


Never Have I Ever

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Category: Smallville
Genre: 33.1, Blame it on the Al-Al-Al-Al-Al-cohol, Drinking Games, F/M, Fingering, Friendship, Getting to know one another, Hurt Oliver, Hurt/Comfort, Jimmy is a jerk, Mission Gone Wrong, Multiple Orgasms, Oral Sex, Overstimulation, Porn with Feelings, Protective Clark Kent, Protective Oliver Queen, Semi-Public Sex, Smut, lex luthor is a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:15:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23989468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: After a bad day, Chloe and Oliver run into each other at the Ace of Clubs and a drinking game brings them closer together.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan, Past Oliver Queen/Lois Lane, past James "Jimmy" Olsen/Chloe Sullivan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

Oliver Queen hadn't intended to be back in Metropolis so soon after his last visit, but business had forced him to return. And now that business--boring as it had been--was taken care of, and patrolling was done for the night, he just wanted to unwind. He sat at a small corner table in Ace of Clubs, nursing a glass of whiskey that burned his throat all the way down.

He scanned the room with casual disinterest, wondering if he should have just headed back to his place for a drink. At least then he would have had the TV to keep him company. He paused when he caught sight of a familiar figure step into the bar. Keeping his eyes on her, he watched her make her way to the bar, his eyebrows furrowing a little. He hadn't really taken her as a big drinker.

Chloe leaned against the bar and took a deep breath, her thoughts somewhere along the same line as his, but she knew why she didn't want to go back to the Talon apartment for the drink she had decided to get, because that would have been too easy for Jimmy to find her. Once she ordered her drink, she took a seat on one of the stools and pulled her phone from her purse, rolling her eyes as she read the newest offending text message before throwing her phone back inside her purse without replying, she was done dealing with him that night.

Oliver watched for only a moment longer, watching her toss the phone back in her purse with irritation before making his decision. Leaving his glass on the table, he rose to his feet and made his way through the crowd til he was at her side. He reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Bad day?"

Blinking, Chloe turned to look at the source of the voice, her eyes widening a little as she found herself face-to-face with none other than her newest employer, "that obvious? I didn't know you were back in town."

"Had some Queen Industries business to deal with," he told her, raising his voice just a little to be heard over the rest of the people in the place. He offered her a smile and shrugged.

"Right, that kind of business," she told him, smiling a little then turning around when the bartender handed her her drink, thanking the guy, she picked it up then turned to Oliver again, "didn't really expect to see any familiar faces here."

"So is it a good surprise or a bad one?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, good," she told him, surprised by the question but managing to smile up at him, he wasn't the person she was trying to avoid for the night, "did you just get here?"

He relaxed a little and shook his head, glancing back toward his table. "Been here awhile," he admitted. "Want to join me?"

Chloe raised her eyebrows and glanced over at his table then back at him, "are you sure I won't be getting in the way of anything?" After all, what else would Oliver Queen be doing at a bar like this by himself if not picking up company?

Oliver raised his other eyebrow as well. "I don't think you're going to try and stop me from finishing my drink, are you?" A hint of a smirk touched his mouth.

"I wasn't planning on it if you promise not to stop me," she told him, raising her own drink and smiling softly, at least he didn't seem to mind being seen with her.

He grinned and offered her his arm. "Why would I do that?"

Raising an eyebrow, she took his arm, "no reason, you're not the resident boy scout," she told him, smirking.

He smirked back at her. "Far from it," he agreed, leading her through the crowd toward his table. "Although it does make me wonder...what _is_ your poison?" he asked, glancing at her drink.

"Strawberry daiquiri?" She told him, wrinkling her nose, "I know, I can hear Lois laughing from here at my choice of girly drinks."

He shrugged a little at that. "You like what you like." He pulled a chair out for her.

"What are _you_ having?" She asked curiously, taking her seat.

"Whiskey sour," he confessed with a grin, sitting down across from her.

"Oh," she looked down at his glass and shrugged, "can't judge it, never had it before."

Oliver slid his glass across the table to her. "It's a lot stronger than what you're drinking," he warned.

"I could tell by the whiskey part," she smirked at him then picked up his glass and took a sip, considering for a moment then shrugging a little, "it's not bad, although it is strong."

"That's why it's not bad," he teased, taking a drink of her daiquiri.

"Oh so you're planning on getting hammered?" She asked, cocking her head and pursing her lips together as she eyed him, amused at the sight of Oliver Queen holding her girly, pink drink.

He chuckled and slid her drink back to her. "I didn't say that. Just blowing off some steam. Boredom. Frustration." He shrugged a little. "What about you?"

"Didn't feel like going home," she told him then bit down on her bottom lip, nodding slightly, "and well, pretty much the same, I guess," she said, sipping on her own drink once more.

He studied her for a moment, then leaned forward. "You all right?"

"Yeah, just..." she took a deep breath and smiled softly at him, "annoyed at some things. Not a big deal."

"Well, contrary to popular belief, I'm a decent listener," he told her with a small smile. "Lay it on me. Maybe it'll make you feel better."

Chloe made a face and shook her head, surprised that he was offering but feeling like she shouldn't really take him up on it, they didn't even know each other all that well, "I really don't wanna bore you with that stuff."

His smile slipped a little and he nodded, picking up his whiskey and taking a drink. "How's the Planet?"

"Good, busy, you know, not boring," she smiled, perking up a little at the change of subject, "how are things at your company?" She asked, not using the name on purpose not to attract curious ears.

He shrugged a little. "Same as always," he said vaguely, figuring she wasn't really interested in the details of Queen Industries. It wasn't that fascinating of a subject.

"What about the other business?" She asked, leaning closer to him over the table then sipping on her drink.

Oliver glanced around to make sure no one was paying any attention to them. "We've found a promising bit of real estate in Alaska." He raised his eyebrows at her, knowing she'd understand what he was talking about.

"Oh," her eyes brightened and she raised her eyebrows, "nice, when are you looking into it?" The idea of taking down Lex, or at least helping with shutting down another 33.1 much more appealing to her than thinking about stupid Jimmy Olsen.

He couldn't help but smile at her eagerness and he took another drink. "Probably going to take a tour this weekend." He paused for a moment. "You interested?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Really?" Chloe asked, her eyes widening a little.

Oliver considered her for a moment, nodding.

"Yeah, I'm definitely interested," she told him, watching him closely to make sure he wasn't joking.

"All right, good. It'll be better to have your hands on deck for this one anyway." He smiled at her, his expression pleased.

Grinning softly she nodded, sipping on her drink, "well you just made my night and possibly my week, so thank you." She said sincerely.

Oliver nodded back at her, raising his glass a little and winking.

Chloe smiled and shrugged, "we should probably talk about this once we're not in public?" She asked, raising her eyebrows a little, dying to know more about the mission and eager to start researching it, she was suddenly very glad she had come to the bar instead of going home and being angry because she wasn't even good enough to keep Jimmy's attention, at least Oliver appreciated her brain, even if it wasn't in that way.

"Yeah, good idea. Do you have plans in the morning?" he asked curiously, watching her intently. He could tell something was bothering her, but he knew she wasn't going to open up. At least not to him.

"Well, I have work but I don't have a set time to go in, so I can stop by before work if you want me to?" She suggested, sipping on her drink once more.

"Sounds good to me," he said, nodding and leaning back in his chair once more.

"So what are your plans for tonight?" She asked, cocking her head a little.

Oliver held his glass up once more. "You're looking at it."

"So what is going on with you that this is your choice for the night?" Chloe asked curiously, taking another sip of her nearly empty glass.

"Boredom, mostly," he admitted, shrugging and watching her as he finished off his drink. "Wasn't planning to be back in Metropolis this soon."

"Oh," she arched an eyebrow, "I take it you're not thrilled to be back?" She asked, sipping on her drink and finishing it off too.

He paused, considering for a moment. "Well, the night's looking up." He smiled.

Chloe smiled softly and nodded at him, setting her glass on the table and shrugging a little, "yeah, I agree," she told him, ignoring the innuendo that could have been behind their sentences, she knew Oliver didn't mean it like that, but it would have been an amazing way to get back at Jimmy.

He studied her for a moment, his smile widening a little as she smiled back at him. He suddenly wished he knew her better than he did, because he had a feeling she was well worth the time and effort. He shifted in his seat. "So what have you been working on at the paper?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing worth reading," she told him, raising her eyebrows, "not with our current owner and censorship, I'm not even researching anything that could be dangerous when I'm there because I don't know if I'm being watched."

Oliver grimaced a little, looking down at the table for a moment. "Right," he murmured.

"Sorry," Chloe said quietly and shook her head, "I guess there are no good topics with me today..." She told him, trying for a smile and looking down at her glass.

He paused for a moment, then smirked. "Well, we could always play a game."

"A game?" She asked, raising her eyebrows a little.

"Have you ever played, 'I've Never'?" he questioned.

Chloe squinted a little and nodded, "yeah, of course."

He grinned and waved at the bartender.

Raising her eyebrows, her eyes widened and she laughed, "at least you can afford the cab ride back to Smallville for me," she told him, smirking and cocking her head.

"I'll do you one better and have my _driver_ take you back in the limo." He grinned at her.

"Oh, limo?" Chloe grinned back at him, smirking as she picked up her purse from her lap when she felt it vibrating and making a face at it before placing it on the empty seat.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Something wrong?"

"No, just Jimmy being annoying," she told him, making a face and shrugging.

Oliver searched her eyes. "Annoying like being a jerk annoying or annoying like whining that you steal the covers annoying?"

Chloe smiled a little and shrugged, "jerk annoying," she said sincerely, she had never really talked to Oliver about Jimmy before, but he kept on asking, she might as well be honest.

He grimaced a little. "Want me to scare him?" A smile tugged at his mouth.

At that, she cocked her head a little and raised her eyebrows, "scare him?"

"You know, tell him to back off." His eyes brightened with clear amusement at the thought.

Chloe raised her eyebrows curiously, opening her mouth then closing it when the waiter Oliver had flagged came by to get their drink orders, once he left, Chloe pursed her lips slightly, "how are you going to do that?"

He grinned at her, leaning in a little. "Well, drop by the Planet. Tell him that harassment is against the law and if he doesn't leave you alone...well." He shrugged. "They never did find Jimmy Hoffa's body either."

At that, she laughed then shook her head a little, "don't worry I don't think it will be necessary, he's already got something more interesting than me to keep him busy."

He cocked his head to the side, raising his eyebrows. "Meaning what, exactly?"

She took a deep breath and made a face, "that sounded bitter, right?" She shook her head a little and leaned back against her chair, "apparently he's interested in Clark's cousin, Kara? So much that he can't even stop himself from openly staring at her when I'm standing right next to him."

Oliver gaped. Then he sat back in his chair a little, still staring. "Are you sure you don't want me to scare him?"

"Yeah," Chloe took a deep breath and shrugged, "it's obviously not working out so I just need to talk to him about it." She said, then looked up when the waiter brought them fresh drinks.

He was silent for a moment, then he took a sip of his drink, watching her. "You know, Chloe, you could do a hell of a lot better than Jimmy Olsen." There wasn't a hint of kidding in his tone.

She looked at him for a moment then shrugged a little, sipping on her drink. She knew he was just trying to cheer her up, but considering she couldn't even keep Jimmy's attention, somehow, she doubted it, "thanks."

He could tell by her tone, and by the look in her eyes, that she didn't believe him and he frowned. "I'm serious. If you're with a guy--any guy--and he's paying more attention to someone else that isn't you, he's the one who's got a problem. Ditch him. You can do better. You _deserve_ better."

Chloe was a little surprised by how serious he sounded and she couldn't help but smile softly at him, nodding a little, "yeah, you're right," she told him quietly, of course, it was easier said than done, especially when she didn't exactly have guys lining up for her.

Oliver met her eyes, nodding a little and then smiling back, looking down at their drinks. "So. Are you game?" There was a hint of teasing in his voice.

With a deep breath, she relaxed, picking up her drink and raising her eyebrows, "bring it, Queen."

He grinned. "We'll start easy. I've never...gone skydiving."

"Too easy," she told him, shaking her head and smirking, "I've never... been to Europe."

He smirked back at her and took a drink. "I've never...been kidnapped." He took a drink.

Chloe mock gasped at him and took a drink, "I hope I don't have to drink for every time it happened or I'll be passed out on the table by the time I'm done," she said, smirking at him.

Oliver chuckled involuntarily. "Clark may have filled me in on a few of your...adventures."

"I'm sure he has," Chloe told him, shaking her head, "okay, I've never... worn an outfit entirely made of leather."

He smirked again, taking another drink as he raised his eyebrows at her.

She laughed softly and grinned at him, adjusting against her chair and leaning forward as she rested her elbows on the table.

"You realize of course, I'm now picturing you in an outfit made entirely of leather," he teased. "Maybe we should get you a uniform."

Chloe's eyes widened a little at that and she cocked her head, "I really don't think I need one to do my job," she smirked.

He flashed her a grin. "We'll see." His eyes were dancing with amusement. "I've never...gotten so drunk I've thrown up on someone." He took a drink.

She raised her eyebrows and didn't drink, "clearly I can hold my liquor better than you can." She teased.

"In my defense, I was fifteen and didn't know not to mix." He chuckled. "You should have seen Bruce Wayne's face, though."

"You threw up on _him_?" She asked, raising her eyebrows, surprised.

"He is the one who told me it was okay to drink whiskey after I'd been drinking vodka." He smirked.

She winced at that and made a face, "okay, that does sound fair," she said, smirking a little, "I've never... been so drunk I completely passed out."

Oliver raised an eyebrow and took another drink, amused.

"We keep this up and I'll be carrying you out of here," she told him, also amused.

He chuckled. "These days I do hold my alcohol better," he promised, winking at her. "Okay. I've never...written something that's been on the front page." He flashed her a charming grin.

She laughed and took a long sip of her drink, "okay, that evens things out a bit," and then a mischievous look appeared on her face, if they were going to play this, they might as well play it right, "I've never... had sexual thoughts about Lois."

He smirked. "I'd be very worried if you had." He shook his head and took a drink. "I've never... had sexual thoughts about _Clark_."

Chloe paused and her face got hot, then she picked up her glass and sipped on it.

He paused, a little surprised. "Huh."

"My options were very limited in Smallville," she told him, trying to brush it off, "I've never made out with more than one person in the same day," she told him, then raised her glass and took a sip.

Oliver's eyes widened a little and he took a drink, as well, growing even more curious. "I've never done a strip tease." He raised an eyebrow, taking another drink.

Chloe bit down on her bottom lip, considering, "do partials count?"

"Oh yeah." He nodded.

She grinned at him and took a sip of her drink, this was definitely getting interesting, "I've never done anything sexual with someone of the same gender." She said, eying him curiously.

Oliver simply arched an eyebrow at her, leaning onto the table a little more.

She leaned forward too and smirked, holding his gaze.

He smirked back at her. "I've never had oral sex." He took a drink.

Chloe stared at him for a moment, "given, received or both?"

Oliver paused at that, considering. "Given."

She nodded, picking up the glass and taking a drink, "I've never had sex with more than one person at a time."

He raised his eyebrows and took another drink, waving at the bartender once more.

Chloe laughed and shook her head, "clearly, you have a much more interesting life than I do."

"Oh, I don't know about that." He turned his head to look at her once more. "I think you've led a pretty interesting life so far."

"Well in the sense of kidnapping and having a near death experience every other week, sure," she told him then shrugged, smirking, "but not the _really_ interesting stuff."

"Sometimes things that seem interesting are a lot more trouble than they're worth," he told her, watching her for a moment and smiling faintly as the bartender set down more drinks in front of them and headed away. "I've never _fantasized_ about being with more than one person at a time." He took another drink, grinning a little.

"Oh," Chloe raised her eyebrows and took a drink, grinning back at her, "good one."

Oliver chuckled. "I try."

"I've never been walked in on," she told him, raising her eyebrows.

"I think you're trying to get me hammered," he teased, taking another drink.

"Maybe I just want to see what you're like drunk," she told him, smiling innocently.

"All you had to do is ask." He smiled back at her, swirling his drink around in the glass and thinking for a moment. "I've never _received_ oral." He took a drink.

"Oh, please, you wasted one, you already knew that," she said, doing her best not to look embarrassed as she didn't reach for her glass.

Oliver blinked. "Actually, I didn't. Seriously? Never?" He frowned a little, leaning in again.

Pursing her lips together, Chloe shook her head and raised her eyebrows, watching him closely.

His frown deepened as he gazed back at her. "Don't take this the wrong way, Sidekick, but clearly you're dating the wrong kind of guys."

Chloe smirked at that and nodded, shrugging and leaning back against her chair, "I'll make sure the next one has the Oliver Queen seal of approval."

"Or the next one could just be Oliver Queen." He watched her intently.

She paused and blinked, then laughed because he had to be joking, "okay now I know you're drunk."

Oliver didn't respond to her statement. "Your turn," he said, his voice a little quieter.

With a deep breath, she leaned in again, keeping her eyes on him as she tried to read his expression, "I've never had sex in a public place."

He smirked a little and glanced around the steadily emptying club. Then he took a drink.

Chloe raised her eyebrows, not missing the look of his face, without being able to stop herself, she shifted to the edge of her seat and stared at him.

Oliver looked back at her once more, a little surprised to find her staring at him with such intensity, and if he wasn't mistaken, she had scooted closer, leaning in a little. His breath hitched for a moment, eyes sweeping over her figure of their own accord.

She tilted her head slightly, keeping her eyes on his even as he clearly looked down to her cleavage, "it's your turn," she told him, her voice lower than before.

He lifted his gaze to meet hers once more. "I've never _wanted_ to have sex in a public place." He watched her intently as he took another drink, his heart beating a little quicker in his chest.

Chloe chewed on her lip for a moment, searching his eyes before picking up her glass and taking a long drink.

Oliver drew in a breath and held it for a few seconds, taking another drink without really thinking about it.

She stared at him for a moment longer, she was buzzed but not drunk, just enough to feel a lot more confident, her heart was pounding against her chest as she gathered the courage for her next question, "I've never _wanted_ to have sex with a co-worker," she told him, her face turning pink as she took another drink.

His eyes darkened a little at her words, his gut tightening as he watched her take a drink. He lifted his glass to his mouth and finished off the whiskey.

With wide eyes, she held her breath then finished her drink too.

Not taking his eyes off her, Oliver rose to his feet slowly, holding his hand out to her.

She just stared at him for a long moment, then still holding his gaze, she picked up her purse then took his hand, her heart beating so fast, she could swear she could hear it.

He threw some cash down on the table, then led her through the crowd, not letting go of her hand as they made their way out of the main room and down the corridor toward the bathrooms.


	2. Chapter 2

Chloe's eyes were wide as her grip tightened around his hand as they walked, she didn't even want to _think_ about this, because she wanted to do it and she knew if she was rational about it, she wouldn't.

Oliver knocked on the women's restroom door, figuring it would be the cleaner of the two and when no one responded, he slipped inside, pulling her in with him and then locking the door before turning to look at her once more, his eyes filled with hunger.

She glanced at the lock then took a deep breath before turning to looking at him, her eyes widening a little as she saw the pure hunger in his eyes, her stomach clenching slightly, she was sure no one had ever looked at her like that before.

"If you don't want to do this, all you have to do is say the word," he murmured even as he moved closer to her.

"I do," Chloe said, taking a step closer too, her heart speeding up in anticipation and her own eyes darkening.

"Oh good." A second later she was right in front of him and he lifted a hand to cup her cheek, dipping his head and kissing her. Softly at first, and then more firmly. His other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her right up against him.

She stilled for a moment then returned the kiss, lifting her hands to his arms and holding on to him, a quiet noise escaping her as he deepened the kiss.

The quiet noise she made made him groan and in the back of his mind he knew this wasn't a good idea, but he was too busy listening to the rest of his mind that was screaming it was a great idea and wondering why they hadn't done this long before. He slid his other hand up and into her hair, nibbling on her lower lip.

He was so much taller than Jimmy, Chloe was standing on her tiptoes, but she needed better support so she wrapped her arms around his neck and stepped backwards until her back was pressed against the wall, pulling him with her.

A smile tugged at his mouth as he realized what she was doing and why. Without thinking twice, he leaned down a little, hauling her off her feet and winding her legs around his waist, meeting her eyes with raised eyebrows. "Better?" he teased, his mouth near her ear.

She took a deep breath and shivered, then nodded, "much."

"Good," he whispered, kissing her earlobe lightly and nuzzling his nose against her neck, kissing her there, too.

Chloe closed her eyes and ran her hands down his arms, squeezing them as she tried to pull him even closer.

"Your skin's so soft," he murmured, his tongue darting out to taste her, his teeth scraping very gently over her shoulder.

She shivered again, opening her eyes and turning her head toward him, not knowing what to say.

Oliver placed a kiss against the same spot and then kissed his way up her jaw and to her ear once more. "I wonder if you taste that good everywhere," he whispered suggestively, one hand sliding beneath her shirt.

Chloe suddenly had butterflies in her stomach, she turned her head toward him and pressed her lips to his jaw, "you could find out."

"I intend to," he responded, reaching up to unbutton her blouse.

She took a long, deep breath, pushing away the urge to ask questions, which wasn't easy for her, but Oliver was a pretty good distraction. She glanced down at his fingers then reached for his shirt, starting to undo the buttons on it too.

Oliver met her eyes for a moment and smiled at her before slanting his mouth over hers once more, kissing her urgently even as he slid the shirt off her shoulders.

Chloe moaned against his lips, shrugging her shirt off as she worked the buttons on his, resisting the urge to just tug it off of him.

"Go ahead," he whispered, smirking faintly as he kissed his way down her neck once more. "I can buy another."

She paused and smirked a little, opening her eyes and biting down on her bottom lip before tugging on his shirt hard, sending the rest of his buttons flying then pushing the shirt off of him.

He let it fall to the floor without a second thought, then took a moment to admire the new view. The bra she wore was simple, ivory with a little bit of lace. But on her it looked fantastic. "Beautiful," he murmured, lowering his head to kiss his way down her chest.

Her face flushed once more, but she did her best not to think too much about the fact that Oliver Queen was seeing her half naked and touching her and kissing her, so she just closed her eyes and slid her hand into his hair, focusing on the feel of his lips against her skin.

Oliver cupped one of her breasts in his hand and covered the other with his mouth, teasing her through the lace and fabric.

"Oh," Chloe moaned, her back arching as she leaned into his hands, his touch was enough to make her want this that much more.

After a moment, he slowly lowered her feet to the floor, kneeling in front of her and unzipping her skirt, tugging it to the floor, as well and letting it pool at her feet. He looked up at her, silent question in his eyes.

Her mouth suddenly felt dry and she stared down at him, licking her lips and nodding slightly, her heart beating fast again as she ran her fingers through his hair.

He hooked his fingers into the waistband of her underwear and slid them down, over her hips and let them pool on the floor, as well. He slid his hands up her legs slowly, caressing her skin, fascinated by the way she trembled just a little, at the goosebumps that suddenly appeared, at her sharp intake of breath as he pressed a kiss to her stomach, easing her thighs open a little wider.

Chloe stepped out of her panties then pulled her legs a little further apart for him, she knew he had done this thousands of times before, to several different women, but it was still incredibly intimate and she couldn't help but be nervous.

"Relax," he whispered, looking up at her. "It's just me." He smiled at her, sliding one hand around to rest against her lower back to help support her. Then he kissed the inside of her thighs before sliding his tongue across the length of her slit.

Her knees buckled under her instantly and she pressed her back against the wall and his hand, closing her eyes and groaning as she completely forgot about the rest of her body, her attention was fully on the feel of his warm tongue against her and that alone felt amazing.

Oliver smiled at her reaction, and he tightened his arm around her just a little to help her keep standing as he moved his mouth over her again, his tongue slowly circling the sensitive bundle of nerves at the juncture of her thighs.

Chloe let out a strangled moan, it was almost too much, she reached over and slid her fingers through his hair, holding on to it firmly as whatever little part of her that was still conscious of what she was doing stopped her hips from thrusting against his lips, it felt so good, but she needed more.

Sensing her need, he gently eased a finger into her heat, and then another, stroking her slowly as his tongue continued to circle her clit.

"God," Chloe called, her grip on his hair so tight, she was probably hurting him, but she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing, not when he was doing so much to her, her hips thrust against his tongue and touch as her she moved closer to her orgasm.

Oliver began to move his fingers a little faster within her, then he gently scraped his teeth over her clit, holding onto her a little more firmly, knowing how close she was.

She cried out so loudly, her throat suddenly felt raw, but she didn't notice she had been the one to make the noise, her body was trembling and her muscles were clenching his fingers, her eyes were shut tightly as she shuddered, riding her orgasm, the most amazing, mind-blowing orgasm anyone had ever given her, including herself.

He watched her as she came undone, his eyes on her face and he groaned softly as her skin flushed a beautiful shade of pink, her breathing shaky. Her hand was wound so tightly in his hair that it hurt, but he barely felt it. Sliding his other arm around her, he slowly kissed his way back up her body until their faces were only inches apart.

Chloe didn't open her eyes until she felt his breath on her face, still taking deep breaths, she looked at him for a moment then blinked, "wow..." she whispered, it was about as coherent as she could get.

A smile curved his lips and he lifted a hand to her cheek, caressing it gently for a moment before he lowered his mouth to kiss her jaw once more.

Her hand was still in his hair but now she was running her fingers through the spot gently, massaging it without thinking about it, she turned her head and pressed her lips to his and then she realized that the taste in his mouth was _her_ and couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine, there was something incredibly arousing about it, maybe it was because unlike Jimmy, he clearly wasn't grossed out by her body, but Jimmy was the furthest thing from her mind right now.

"I was right," he murmured against her mouth. "You _do_ taste good everywhere." He brushed his nose against hers, deepening the kiss slowly and reaching into his backpocket to grab his wallet.

She smiled against his lips then cupped the back of his neck and kissed him harder.

Oliver responded instantly to her urgency, his tongue dancing with hers as he pulled a condom out of the wallet and dropped the wallet to the ground.

Chloe didn't waste time in running her hands down his torso, she could feel his hard muscles reacting to her touch as she dipped her hands down and hastily undoing his belt then his pants and pushing them down, if she could make him feel half as good as he had just made her feel, she would be pretty proud of herself.

He ripped open the metallic package and rolled the condom over his length, lifting her up once more and winding her legs around him. He paused to gaze at her for a moment, searching her eyes.

She couldn't help but look down at him, his body looked like something out of a tv show, a movie or a magazine, his perfectly toned muscles were hard, but his skin was soft and to see him hard and waiting for her, _wanting_ her... she shivered and reached for him, wrapping her fingers around his length and holding his gaze then nodding slightly.

He smiled at her, sliding into her slowly, pressing a kiss to her mouth without closing his eyes.

Chloe moaned and closed her eyes, feeling him as he stretched her and while there was no pain, probably because her body was so incredibly relaxed, he was bigger than she was used to.

"You okay?" he murmured, giving her time to adjust to his presence.

"Yeah," she breathed, smiling a little at his concern then opening her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him.

Oliver met her eyes and smiled back at her as he slowly pulled away from her and thrust back in, groaning and dropping his head against her shoulder.

"Oh," she groaned quietly as he moved within her, locking her legs a little higher around him, angling her hips better and causing him to move further inside of her.

He sucked in a breath at her unexpected movement and lifted his head to watch her as they moved together quickly, his body urging him to go faster, harder, but he held back, not wanting to hurt her. He enjoyed the way her eyes darkened with need, turning them a darker shade of green than usual. "You are incredible," he murmured.

Chloe held his gaze and shook her head, cupping the back of his neck for better support, "you feel amazing," she said sincerely, surprised by how well their bodies seemed to fit together.

Oliver smiled at that, kissing the corner of her mouth softly as he thrust into her again, his hands sliding up and down her back, touching and caressing.

She shivered softly and turned her head, pressing her mouth against his and thrusting against him a little harder. As nice as the borderline tenderness was, she still had to show him she could make him feel as amazing as he just had made her feel.

He groaned softly, sliding a hand down to her hip for better balance and thrust into her a little harder in response to her actions. "God, Chloe," he whispered, letting out a shuddering breath.

"Faster," she told him, moving her mouth against his jaw then running her tongue over his neck, over his pulse point, she could feel the vibration through his skin.

He shuddered against her, shutting his eyes and driving into her faster, harder. He could feel himself getting close already and he slid his other hand between them, stroking her quickly.

"Oh!" Chloe cried out, closing her eyes and slamming her hips against him, her muscles already starting to spasm around him, she hadn't expect him to be able to give her a second orgasm, but all of the sudden, she had no doubt he would.

Oliver grinned at the sound of her cry and thrust into her again, pressing his thumb against her a little more firmly. "Come on, Sidekick," he whispered, nibbling on her earlobe.

She shuddered hard at the overstimulation, between him thrusting inside of her, his thumb rubbing against her, his voice against her ear and his mouth on her skin, she just needed a couple more thrusts before coming undone. Again. With a cry of his name, she shuddered hard, her muscles clinging to him as hard as they could as her head fell back against the wall, her nails dug into his skin and she couldn't feel anything but him.

A couple thrusts more and he followed her over the edge, shuddering hard, as well and letting his head drop against her collarbone as he tried to catch his breath. "God, Chloe." His voice was soft but still deeper than usual.

She clung to him, trying to hold on to his sweat-covered back as she tried to keep him closer as they caught their breath, "you're..." she took a deep breath, "mind-blowing."

A smile tugged his lips upwards and he kissed her collarbone softly. "Likewise. That was incredible." He lifted his head to look at her.

Chloe blinked and pulled back to look back at him, staring at him for a moment, she hadn't even _done_ anything, but she wasn't about to argue that it had been incredible, still, her brain had melted somewhere in the process because she couldn't even think of anything to say.

Oliver met her eyes and smiled softly, then leaned in and kissed her mouth.

She returned the kiss, her heart was still beating fast against her chest and slowly, she started to become very aware of the fact that she was completely naked, except for her bra, with Oliver Queen, in a public bathroom and he had just given her the two most amazing orgasms in her life. And then she realized that the only reason she suddenly _was_ so aware of those things was because there was banging on the door.

He groaned involuntarily at the pounding on the door. He placed another quick kiss on her lips and then knelt down on the floor, picking up her underwear and then her feet, sliding them up to her hips and picking up her skirt, glancing up at her.

Before she knew what was happening, she was already half dressed, she held his gaze then took the skirt, pulling it up the rest of the way and zipping it up, like he hadn't done enough for her already, "thanks," she told him quietly.

He picked her shirt up, as well, rising to his feet and sliding it on her arms, keeping his eyes on her and smiling softly. Then he leaned down to gather his own clothes, dressing quickly as the pounding resumed. He shot a glare toward the door.

Once they were both fully dressed, Chloe glanced at herself in the bathroom mirror and took a deep breath, there was absolutely no denying what they were doing in there; she looked _exactly_ like she had just had the most amazing sex of her life. She glanced up at him and chewed on her bottom lip, "this will be interesting," mortifying was probably a better word.

"Relax," he murmured, winding his arm around her waist, not bothering to try and hold his shirt together despite the lack of buttons. At this time of night, alone together in a bathroom, Oliver knew there was no way anyone would buy they were doing anything besides what they had. Besides, they both looked like they'd just had amazing sex and...they _had_. He wasn't ashamed of it. He pressed a kiss to her temple and led her toward the door, unlocking it and stepping outside, past the woman in a red dress, her eyes wide. He kept his arm around Chloe.

Chloe took a deep breath and held her head up but didn't look directly at the woman was standing outside, luckily, the woman hadn't called the manager and made an even bigger scene of it, so Chloe relaxed slightly, glancing up at Oliver once they reached the end of the corridor.

Oliver led her out of Ace of Clubs and into the chilly evening air. "See? Wasn't so bad." He smiled a bit.

She shivered a little when they stepped outside and took a deep breath, grinning slightly, "nothing bad about it." She told him, blushing as she looked up at him again.

He couldn't help but grin at her. "Definitely not," he agreed, watching her. "So do you want to come back with me to the clock tower?"

"Oh," she raised her eyebrows a little, "I probably need to get back to Smallville," she told him, watching him closely.

Oliver nodded slightly, searching her eyes. "I'll have my driver take you," he said quietly, lifting a hand to tuck some hair behind her ear.

"No, Ollie, it's okay," she told him, smiling a little awkwardly, "I'm pretty sober and I'll need my car to get to work tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" He frowned a little, worried.

"Yeah," she took a deep breath and smiled a little more at him, "I'll be okay," she assured him, besides, she didn't want him to think that he owed her anything just because he knew her better than the women he usually slept with.

He searched her eyes for a moment, then nodded. "Call me when you get home so I know you made it safely?" he asked quietly.

Chloe looked at him for a moment longer then nodded as well, smiling a little as she brushed her hair behind her ear since it was going crazy with the wind, it was already all over the place to begin with, "yeah, I'll let you know."

"All right." He stepped closer, lifting a hand to her cheek and tilting her head back, kissing her softly once more. "Have a good night."

Her heart suddenly sped up again as she kissed him back then nodded at him, she'd expected this to be a lot more awkward than it had been, not that she should have, this was Oliver, he knew how to handle these situations, "I will," she said sincerely, smiling a little, "good night."

"Night," he said softly, watching as she turned to head toward her car.

Chloe bit down on her bottom lip and glanced at him over her shoulder, smiling a little once more at him then taking a deep breath and walking quickly to her car, at least now she could cross several things off of her 'I've never' list.


	3. Chapter 3

Chloe didn't make it to the Planet until almost eleven the next morning, the biggest cup of coffee available in her hand, she hadn't gotten to Smallville until way past three and then she had taken her time showering and although she was incredibly relaxed, she just hadn't been able to sleep. She was far too awake. She hadn't called Oliver when she got in, she texted him instead just in case he had already been sleeping.

He had answered her text but she hadn't replied again. She wasn't really seeing anything as she made her way to her desk in the basement, but as she sat down, she saw the small bouquet of tulips sitting on her keyboard. She immediately rolled her eyes, assuming they were from Jimmy, but then she paused then she took the small card and read it, smiling softly.

_Hope you're having a wonderful day, Green Eyes.  
-O_

Definitely not from Jimmy, even if she knew Jimmy was the reason why Oliver had decided to send them to her. With a deep breath she emptied one of her pen holders and placed the flowers on it so they were pretty visible, then slid the card inside her purse and waited.

Less than ten minutes later, Jimmy was standing beside her desk, eying the flowers with narrowed eyes. "You never called me back last night."

"No, I didn't," Chloe said, not taking her eyes off of her computer screen.

"Why not?" He folded his arms across his chest, still staring at the tulips.

"Because I was busy," she told him, trying her best not to smirk smugly like she wanted to, she wanted to keep her expression neutral, she hadn't had much intention on fixing things with Jimmy before Oliver, now, she knew there was no point in doing it because even if she did and she slept with Jimmy again, he just absolutely could not compare.

"Who sent the flowers?" Jimmy asked, sitting on the corner of her desk and watching her with a frown.

"A friend." She said, finally looking up at him.

"I thought _roses_ were your favorite." He stared at her.

"Yeah, you never really bothered to ask," she said, raising her eyebrows, "tulips have always been my favorite."

" _Kara_ loves roses."

Chloe's jaw clenched and she stopped herself from saying she hoped Kara didn't like orgasms because she wasn't getting any from Jimmy. Although the thought made her smirk slightly which was enough to get her to move on, "well, good for her."

Jimmy blinked at her disinterested reply. "Chloe."

" _What_?" She asked, leaning back against her chair and staring up at him.

His eyes narrowed. "If you wanted flowers, all you had to do was say something. You didn't have to send them to yourself," he said snidely.

She stilled, her mouth hanging open for a second then she closed it, staring at him, "as unlikely as it might seem to _you_ that someone _else_ might know what my favorite flowers are and be willing to send them to me, I can assure you, I didn't send them to myself. Not that it's any of your business." She added, suddenly feeling a lot less confident and a lot angrier.

"Yeah, because it's so easy for people to get close to you," he said bitterly.

"I only get close to people who are worth my time," she told him sharply, "clearly, you're no longer part of that category so if you don't mind, I have work to do."

"Well, considering the only people you let near you are Lois and Clark, and I kinda doubt they sent the flowers, have fun by yourself, Chloe." His voice was harsh as he headed away.

Chloe opened her mouth to reply but closed it, her jaw tight as she turned back to her computer, not really seeing the screen, her chest tight because she knew that even if Jimmy was a complete idiot, he wasn't wrong.

Her cell phone began to ring in her purse.

She blinked a couple of times and took a deep breath, picking up the phone and answering it without checking the called ID, "hello?"

"Morning, Beautiful." Oliver smiled at the sound of her voice, sitting back in his desk chair.

Pausing, she looked around for a moment, wondering if he had seen something and that was why he was calling, when she didn't see him anywhere, she smiled a little, "hi."

"Do you like the flowers?" he asked softly.

"They are beautiful, I was just about to email you to thank you," she told him quietly, "how did you know they were my favorites?

"Ah, can't reveal all my secrets," he teased her. "Although you do know most of them."

Chloe smiled at that, "well, I did figure most of them out on my own..."

"Touche." He chuckled softly.

"Thanks, Ollie," she said sincerely, taking a deep breath and glancing across the room where Jimmy was staring at her while pretending to go through some pictures, "you really didn't have to."

"I wanted to," he said just as sincerely. "I meant everything I said last night, Chloe." He paused. "And I'd like to have lunch with you."

Chloe paused, "you would?" She asked then realization dawned on her, "oh, crap, I forgot I was supposed to come by this morning so we could talk about this weekend, I'm sorry."

A smile tugged at his lips. "It's okay," he assured her. "But you can make it up to me with the lunch thing," he teased. "Sound good?"

"Yeah," she smiled a little and nodded, sitting back against her chair, "that sounds fair."

"Great." His voice was cheerful. "What sounds good? Your choice."

"Hm," she considered for a moment, "are you hungover?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Not even a little." He paused. "Are you?"

"Not at all," she told him, "but I guess we didn't drink all that much," she added, biting down on her bottom lip as her cheeks got warm.

Oliver couldn't help but smile. "No, we didn't," he agreed.

She took a deep breath and grinned softly, "so, how do you feel about italian?"

"One of my favorites," he told her. "Do you want to meet somewhere or would you be okay with me picking you up at the Planet?" he asked, not wanting to cause any office gossip if it would make her uncomfortable.

Chloe considered for a moment, she'd be more comfortable with meeting him somewhere, but considering Jimmy's earlier accusations and the fact that she knew he had been right about her not letting people close, she forced herself to choose the other option, so holding her breath a little and sitting up, she did her best to sound relaxed as she said, "you can come by if you want to, there is a really nice restaurant about a block from here, we can just walk there."

Oliver was a little surprised that she'd chosen that option, but he wasn't going to question it. "All right, sounds good to me. I'll come by around one? Does that work okay for you?"

"Yeah," Chloe let her breath out silently, "I'll see you at one."

"All right. See you then." He smiled and leaned back in his chair once more, hanging up his telephone.

She sighed deeply as she hung up and looked down at the phone, she did like hanging out with Oliver, even if they hadn't really hung out all that much before the previous night even before they somehow ended up in that bathroom, she had genuinely had fun with him and sincerely hoped that today wouldn't be awkward because of it. At the same time, she didn't want Oliver to feel like she was agreeing to this just to prove a point to Jimmy.

* * *

Oliver arrived at the Daily Planet at exactly one o'clock, doing his best to ignore all the curious, wide-eyed stares and quiet whispers as he made his way to the basement. He smiled as he spotted Chloe at her desk, her fingers flying over the keyboard. When he'd called to invite her to lunch, he'd half expected she'd shoot him down. He was glad he'd been wrong. He made his way across the floor slowly, heading toward her.

She didn't notice him approaching her desk and she also didn't notice the way the normally incredibly loud and noisy room suddenly grew quieter and full of whispers. She was usually and incredibly observant person, just not when she was focusing on a story.  
Both amused and fascinated by her intensity as she worked, he casually dropped into the chair in front of her desk, waiting for her to notice him.

Chloe paused when she saw something out of the corner of her eye, behind her monitor, no one sat across from her, so she raised her eyes to where he was sitting and blinked, "Oliver."

He grinned at her. "I don't know whether to be really impressed at your ability to focus or to take it personally that you didn't even know I was here."

She made a face and smiled a little, "let's go with the first one, how long have you been here?"

"Nearly an hour," he teased.

"Yeah, right, pretty sure I would have heard at least one of my co-workers approaching you for an interview," she said, smirking softly then looking down at her monitor and blinking, "I can't believe it's past one already." Sure, it could have been because she had gotten to work only two hours prior, but still.

He smiled at her, rising to his feet once more. "Lunch then?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Right, lunch," she told him, smiling a little up at him then saving everything she'd been working on and standing up too.

Oliver watched her closely for a moment, then offered her his arm silently.

Chloe hesitated for a second, holding his gaze then taking his arm.

He noticed her hesitation, but simply offered her a soft, warm smile, leading her toward the door and fighting the urge to smirk when he spotted Jimmy Olsen standing on the stairs, his eyes wide as he stared at them.

Her heart was beating fast against her chest as they walked up the stairs, she suddenly felt like she was back in high school and she was just seen making out with the hottest guy in school because she could feel the _entire_ bullpen staring at her.

Oliver guided her up the stairs, passing Jimmy without a second look and leading her out the lobby doors. "You okay?" he whispered.

"Yeah," she whispered back to him, offering him a quick smile as they made their way out to the street then taking a deep breath, "that will keep them busy for a whole month."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" he asked quietly, glancing at her sideways as he walked beside her down the sidewalk toward the restaurant she'd suggested.

"Doesn't bother me," she told him quietly, "and I'm guessing you knew to expect something like that when you willingly walked into the lion's den?"

"It's why I asked if you'd prefer to meet somewhere," he told her. "I don't want to intentionally do anything to make your life more difficult."

Chloe shrugged a little and shook her head, "I don't care if everyone knows we're friends, Oliver," she said sincerely, looking up at him, "and they can talk all they want."

He paused at her wording, glancing down at her. "Right." He nodded a little, opening the door for her as they arrived at the restaurant.  
She smiled a little at him then stepped inside, following the hostess to a table in the back and taking her seat.

He followed her to the table and sat down across from her. "So what's good here?" he asked her.

"Pretty much all of it," she told him, glad it hadn't gotten awkward yet, she was aware that this wasn't a date, and that the previous night had nothing to do with why they were there, their upcoming mission was the reason for the lunch and if Chloe managed to keep herself on that path, she was sure they would be okay, "I love their spaghetti and meatballs and their lasagna the best though."

"Lasagna sounds pretty good," he said, nodding and not picking up the menu. He watched her carefully, wondering what was going on in her mind, and still turning over the fact that she'd referred to him as a _friend_ in his own head. Last time he checked, most friends didn't have sex in public bathrooms.

Chloe glanced at the menu for a second then closed it, raising her eyebrows a little when she noticed him staring at her, "are you going with the lasagna, then?"

He nodded. "What about you?"

"Spaghetti," she told him, smiling softly.

Oliver smiled back at her and looked up as the waitress arrived. Once they'd placed their orders and she'd brought them their drinks, Oliver took a sip of his water, glancing back at Chloe again. "You look great." 

She paused at that and raised her eyebrows a little, that wasn't very business lunch-like, "thanks..."

He cocked his head to the side, gazing at her. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she told him, taking a deep breath then looking around and offering him a smile, "I think we're safe to talk back here?"

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "I think that depends on what we're talking about?" 

"About that sight-seeing trip this weekend?" She asked, frowning, "the reason why I was gonna come by this morning?"

He paused, looking down for a moment and then back up at her. "I actually didn't mean for this to seem like a business lunch," he admitted, feeling a little uncertain.

"Oh," her heart sped up but she did her best to keep her expression neutral, "what did you mean for it to be?" She asked before she could stop herself.

"Well, if it's not business..." he said gently, holding her gaze.

Chloe opened and closed her mouth then looked away, considering her answer for a moment then chewing on the inside of her lip, she shook her head, "you really don't have to do this."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Don't have to do what?"

" _This_ ," she told him then took a deep breath, lowering her voice, "look, Oliver, I'm fine with what happened, we both felt like it and it was absolutely amazing, but we're both adults and we don't have to pretend that this is something it's not."

Oliver stared at her for a long moment. "Chloe, I didn't ask you to lunch because I felt like I owed it to you," he said firmly, shaking his head a little. "I asked you because I like you. I enjoyed your company--and not just the end part of the night."

Pursing her lips slightly, Chloe watched him cautiously for a long moment, "I enjoyed your company too," she admitted, "which is why we shouldn't ruin things by complicating them."

He blinked a couple of times. "Having lunch together and wanting to spend time with you complicates things?"

"Depends on which context you want to spend time with me in," she told him, frowning a little in confusion.

He frowned, as well, leaning forward in his seat and watching her. "What if I said all of it?"

Chloe shook her head slightly, holding his gaze as her stomach turned into knots, "I'd say you're crazy."

"Why?" he asked, leaning in closer, and watching her closely, a hint of challenge in his tone.

"Because, Oliver," she held his gaze, taking the challenge and ready to prove him wrong, "we don't even make _sense_ , we have two completely different lives, you live in Star City and I live in Metropolis, both of our relationship histories are abysmal, you used to date my _cousin_ who could never even dream last night ever happened, I have no clue where I stand with Jimmy right now and on top of that, we have to work together."

He raised his eyebrows, nodding a little before making his counter-argument. "Turns out the business is going to keep me here longer than expected. I'm not going back to Star City anytime soon. Our lives aren't that different because we _do_ work together. And maybe the reason our relationship histories are so abysmal is because of the secrets we have related to that work. But you and me?" He shook his head a little. "We don't have that secrecy. I trust you, Chloe. I hope you trust me, too. And Jimmy?" He gave her a look.

She took a deep breath, he was as stubborn as she was, but she wasn't about to back down, "if I didn't trust you, I wouldn't agree to work with you, but even if you don't go back to Star City now, you still will eventually and what about Lois? And what do we do when this doesn't work out and we still have to work together? The kind of job we do can't be done when one person is resenting the other, Oliver."

Oliver gazed at her. "Lois and I knew it wasn't going to work. We stayed friends," he reminded her quietly. "And why are you so sure it won't work out?"

"Because you are _you_ ," Oliver Queen, playboy, billionaire and superhero extraordinaire, "and I am _me_ ," the person who can't even keep Jimmy Olsen's attention.

He flinched at that and looked down.

Chloe's chest felt tight as she saw the look on his face, "I'm sorry," she told him quietly, "I think you're an amazing guy, Oliver and I can't tell you how flattered I am that you would even consider wanting this, but I don't want us to hurt each other and that's what would end up happening."

"Yeah. Because at the end of the day, I'm really just a womanizer at heart." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Got it."

She paused and blinked a couple of times, shaking her head, trying to conceal the hurt expression on her face as well as she could, "that's not what I meant, Oliver..."

"Sure," he said, not looking at her. He sat back as the waitress brought their lunch. He thanked her without looking up, taking a bite of lasagna wordlessly.

Chloe watched him in silence for a long moment then shook her head, finally picking up her fork without any intention of taking a bite of her food, "see? You resent me already."

"No. I don't resent you." His voice was quiet. "I'm well aware of my less than wonderful reputation."

"I'm not saying this because of your reputation," she told him, "I know you better than that."   
"All right." He took another bite of food.

She sighed and shook her head, going back to her food silently. This was exactly what she'd been trying to avoid, although mostly, she'd been telling herself that she couldn't let herself think anything was going to come out of it because she didn't think he'd ever be interested in her like that, the fact that he said he was was still completely throwing her off.

He was quiet for a long time, focusing on his food. Then he sighed softly and looked up at her. "We don't know each other very well, do we?"

Chloe looked up at him and took a deep breath, "for all the secrets we know about each other, I guess we don't really know the normal stuff," she agreed, twirling pasta on her fork without really paying attention.

Oliver watched her for a moment. "What we if we changed that?"

She chewed on the inside of her lip, her instincts telling her there was no point, but she remembered Jimmy's words from earlier, about how she never let anyone close and stopped her instincts from taking over. She knew Oliver was obviously one of the good guys and while she still thought a relationship was a bad idea for all the reasons she had listed before, she had had fun hanging out with him the night before and if nothing else, maybe they could become closer friends and go from there.

"Just got to know each other more?" She asked, wanting to make sure they were on the same page.

He gazed at her, nodding. "Yeah. Get to know each other as something other than co-workers, and... see what happens. No pressure or expectations."

After looking him for a moment longer, Chloe took a deep breath and nodded a little, "okay."

"Yeah?" Oliver smiled a little, searching her eyes.

"Yeah," she told him, nodding a little, "I meant when I said I had a good time last night, Oliver, even before anything happened, I liked hanging out with you."

He ducked his head a little, smiling and nodding. "I meant what I said last night too, Chloe." He paused a moment. "And I hope I'm not out of line saying that I honestly hope you don't give Jimmy Olsen another chance because you really do deserve better than being treated as second best." His voice was quiet.

"You're not," she assured him then took a deep breath, "and I wasn't planning on it, well, not anymore," she told him, smiling a little.

"Good," he said softly, watching her and smiling back faintly.

She took a deep breath and picked up a bite of food but didn't eat it, "besides, I think now he really believes I didn't send myself flowers and he's probably kicking himself."

"He should be. It's his loss," he said sincerely, taking a drink.

"Thank you," she told him, smiling a little more and taking a bite.

"You're welcome." He smiled a little more, too.

Chloe paused for a moment then shifted her plate closer to him, it was something she'd do with Clark or Lois, she saw no probably doing it with Oliver, "you should try their meatballs, they are really amazing."

Oliver glanced up, surprised by the offer. "Oh. Okay." He looked down at his plate and pushed it closer to her. "Have some lasagna. Best of both worlds, right?" He smiled.

"Yep, that would be pretty much the definition of it," she said, reaching out and taking a piece of his lasagna.

He speared one of the meatballs with his fork and met her eyes briefly, grinning a little and taking a bite.

She held on to her fork but didn't eat, watching him as he ate, "so what do you think?"

Oliver chewed and swallowed, nodding. "Very good," he agreed.

Grinning softly, she nodded, "glad you approve," she told him, eating the bite of the lasagna.

"I really do." He grinned back, watching her and then taking another bite.

"Well, considering you probably had the real stuff in Italy, that's good to know," she said, smiling as she pulled the plate closer to herself.

He nodded a little. "It's one of my favorite countries," he admitted, taking a bite of his lasagna.

"Do you go there often?" She asked curiously, relaxing a little as she took another bite, it seemed so easy to go from worked up to relaxed with him.

"Not often enough," he said with a slight smile and a shrug. "Only if I have a good excuse to go. Generally if there's business of one kind or another there."

"And what is your favorite place ever?" She asked, sipping on her water then taking another bite.

Oliver cocked his head as he chewed another bite of food, considering. "That's a tough one."

"The answer is probably the first thing that came to mind," she told him, grinning softly and sitting back against her chair once she was done eating.

He grinned. "Believe it or not, my first answer was Ireland."

"Really?" She raised her eyebrows, curiously, grinning softly, "what did you like about it?"

"Everything, really. It's a beautiful country. The food is incredible, the people are very friendly." Amusement twinkled in his eyes. "Plus they have _year round_ green beer."

Chloe laughed softly, nodding, "I see the attraction now," she sipped her water again then shrugged a shoulder, "I can't argue against it though, my blood is almost purely Irish."

Oliver grinned at her. "Have you ever been?"

She shook her head and smiled, "no, one of my uncles moved there a few years back though, dad and have been trying to plan a trip since, it just hasn't worked out yet."

He considered that for a moment. "Well, how about this? The next time I have business there I'll let you know and if you and your dad want to come along..."

Chloe paused at that, raising an eyebrow and looking at him for a moment, "really?" If he had invited her alone, she would have guessed it was some kind of move but considering he had included her dad, it sounded like a genuine offer.

"Yeah, of course. It's a long flight and when I do business there it usually takes several days." He shrugged a little. "I'd be glad to have a little company for a change, even if it's just for the flight."

She smiled sincerely and nodded, watching him, "that'd be fun, and when you're not busy in meetings, you could come be horrified by the drinking habits of the Sullivan men."

He chuckled. "Sounds like a good time." His eyes were bright.

"They will drink you under the table," she warned him, grinning softly.

"Sounds like a challenge to me," he responded, grinning back

Chloe grinned and nodded, raising her eyebrows and secretly hoping this trip did happen because she'd really like to see how that went, "it would be."

Oliver took a long drink, amused by her amusement. "Maybe I should start working on an even higher alcohol tolerance," he joked.

"Oh so when you turn into an alcoholic you can blame me and my family?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and smirking.

He laughed. "Yeah, that's it. How'd you guess?"

She pressed her index finger to her temple and winked at him.

He shook his head, leaning back in his seat and grinning at her. "Of course."

Chloe grinned softly at him and leaned back against her seat too and kept her eyes on him, silent for a moment, "so what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"I have a couple meetings this afternoon," he told her. "Then the usual this evening." He raised his eyebrows a little. "What about you?"

She smirked a little at the last part then nodded, "just work, I'll probably stay late since I didn't get in until eleven this morning."

Oliver shifted in his chair, a smile tugging at his lips. "Right."

Pursing her lips, she felt her cheeks growing warm again and grinned, shrugging a little as she did her best to push away memories from the previous night, they had just agreed to get to know each other and see where things went, she did not need to feel like jumping him every time they were together.

He leaned in a little closer, resting his elbows on the table and gazing at her. "We do still need to talk business soon. Unless you're okay waiting until the plane takes off."

Chloe nodded and shifted on her chair, leaning forward too, "if you think that'd be enough time for you to fill me in?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's a few hours flight-time, so we should be good." He smiled softly.

"Okay," she smiled a little too and nodded, "when are we leaving?"

"Bright and early Saturday morning. That work for you?"

"Yeah, just give me the time and place," she said, grinning softly and sitting up, she was definitely looking forward to it, "who else is going?"

"Whole team," he told her with a smile. "We'll be taking off from the Metropolis airport at 4:45 a.m."

"I will definitely be there." She told him.

"Excellent. The boys will all be in Friday. I was planning to order some pizza for them, hang out. You interested?"

"Yeah, definitely," she told him, raising her eyebrows, big groups were probably a lot safer than being alone with him anyway, she didn't really trust herself with that.

"All right, good." He smiled at her, a warm, sincere smile that very few people really ever got to see.

She couldn't help but return the smile with just as much warmth and nod softly, "thanks for inviting me."

"You're always welcome, Chloe," he said sincerely. "Even I'm not around, you have the codes and keys to the clock tower. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate."

Chloe paused at that, looking at him for a moment, "I might take you up on that."

"Good." He nodded. "Because I'm serious. You may occasionally find yourself running into Bart or AC or Vic if they happen to be in town, but you're still welcome anytime."

She smiled softly at him and nodded, "I'll make sure to announce myself in case one of them is there and decided clothes were optional."

He grimaced a little. "About the only one you might have to worry about with that is AC."

Chloe grinned a little and nodded, "and here I thought it would be Bart."

Oliver chuckled. "Mostly with him you just have to be careful where you sit. He tends to set plates of food down in random places, though I've been trying to break him of that for awhile."

She laughed softly at that and nodded, "I'll give you a hand with it if I can find a place to say something."

"Appreciated. I swear sometimes I feel like his dad," he joked.

"Probably not far from how he sees you," she teased, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

He grimaced a little. "I'm way too young to have a kid his age."

Chloe laughed softly, "little brother?"

"That I'll accept." He smiled.

She grinned softly and nodded, leaning back against her seat and watching him, considering the previous night and the outcome of it, then the direction their lunch had taken earlier, this was incredibly comfortable and as far as her decision to agreeing to get to know better went, she couldn't be more certain that it had been the right one.


	4. Chapter 4

Sitting at his computer, Oliver raised his eyebrows as Vic let out a little shout of triumph from his seat on the sofa.

"Beat you again, Impulse!" He smirked, waving the video game controller in the air.

"This stupid remote isn't fast enough for me!" Bart said, throwing it on the couch.

Chloe laughed as she picked up her slice of pizza from her plate, shaking her head, "C'mon Bart, blaming the remote is just sad..."

AC smirked. "You lost again, which means it's my turn." He reached out and grabbed up the controller.

Vic smirked at AC. "You're gonna lose, too," he informed the other man.

She raised her eyebrows and looked over at Oliver, "how long have they been at this?"

He glanced up when she spoke and smirked. "For about five hours."

"And I'm guessing they will be at it until it's time for us to leave?" She asked, raising her eyebrows as she leaned back against her chair, looking over at Oliver who was sitting on the one next to hers.

"You're not wrong," he replied, glancing at her sideways and sending another email.

She watched as he turned his attention back to the computer and smiled a little, falling silent.

"You're totally cheating!" AC accused suddenly, glaring at Victor.

"I don't have to cheat. I'm just _that_ good," Vic responded with a smirk.

Oliver shook his head a little, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Man, of course he's cheating, the guy is a computer! We take this outside and he doesn't stand a chance!" Bart complained.

Chloe frowned a little at the look on Oliver's face but didn't ask anything, she took a deep breath and stood up, walking over to the kitchen to refill her glass of soda.

"All right, guys, take it down a notch," Oliver told them with an inaudible sigh. "Save the violent tendencies for the bad guys."

"Isn't cheating bad?" AC asked innocently.

Bart gave Oliver an odd look, "Dude, I meant for a game of basketball, relax."

Smiling a little, Chloe shook her head at Bart, "Sure you did," she told him before taking her seat and shooting Oliver a worried look.

He rubbed the back of his neck wearily, not catching her look. He finally let out a breath and shut down his computer, closing the laptop and leaning back in his chair.

"You okay?" She asked finally, now that he had shut down his computer, she didn't feel like she was intruding or breaking his concentration.

"Just a headache," he told her with a small smile, glancing at her sideways.

"Do you need to take anything?" Chloe asked quietly, leaning against the arm of her chair so she could lean closer and he could hear her over the three yelling men.

"I took some aspirin earlier," he said. "I'll be all right. Just tension."

Chloe watched him for a long moment then nodded a little, "maybe it's time to kick them out so you can get some rest?"

He smirked and glanced at her sideways. "Right," he said wryly. "I'll just tell them they can sleep in the garage tonight."

"Hey, the barn is pretty big," she teased, smirking at him and raising her eyebrows.

Oliver chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I'm sure Clark would be thrilled with that."

"He will live," she told him, shrugging a little and smirking, glad that at least she seemed to have gotten a chuckle out of him and hopefully she could get him to relax some.

"Yeah, but if he hears you're coming along tomorrow, _I_ might not," he pointed out with amusement.

"Right," she wrinkled her nose and smirked a little, "I might have forgotten to mention that to him."

"Oh good. It'd be hard to help out on the mission if I'm twisted into a human-pretzel."

Chloe raised her eyebrows and cocked her head, pretending to think, "you do yoga, don't you?"

Oliver raised an eyebrow back at her. "Yoga's one thing. But I kinda think if Clark decides to twist me into a human pretzel, I won't be untwisting anytime soon."

"Well, at least you'd be halfway there," she told him, smirking at him.

Shaking his head, he elbowed her lightly in her arm.

She smiled softly at him then shrugged a little, "okay, well, we're keeping the secret then."

He met her eyes and smiled back softly, too. He patted her arm lightly. "Appreciated."

Chloe nodded a little and leaned back against her chair, turning her head toward him, she had hundreds of questions about the mission but she didn't want to ask him anything that would only stress him more.

"Whatever man, I'm done with this," Bart announced, shaking his head, "I'm gonna go save some hot chicks instead."

"Me too," AC announced, rising to his feet and grinning.

"I need to recharge," Vic informed them. "Literally. See you guys in a few hours." He headed down the hallway, waving at them.

Chloe watched as Bart vanished then saw as AC got into the elevator and left too, she had completely forgotten that they were probably going to go patrolling. With a deep breath, she looked over at Oliver, "are you taking the night off?"

He glanced at her sideways, grimacing a little. "Yeah, I think so. Since Bart and AC are heading out. Patrolling with a headache isn't generally a great idea."

"You should," Chloe told him then shifted to the edge of her chair, sipping on her soda before pushing herself up, "you should take something and get some sleep."

"Are you leaving?" His eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, you need to rest," she told him, extremely aware of the fact that they were alone now and that he had at least two available bedrooms. Not that they needed bedrooms, but still. This was dangerous.

"You can stay in one of the guest rooms so you don't have to get up as early tomorrow." He gazed at her.

That would actually make a lot more sense than to drive to Smallville just to sleep for about three hours then drive back, and she half expected this to happen anyway so she had already packed her things and left her bag in her car, but still, the guys were supposed to be around for it, "do you have enough room?"

Oliver nodded. "Yeah, plenty of room." He cocked his head to the side. "I never actually gave you a full tour did I?"

"Not really," she admitted, smiling a little.

He smiled back and rose to his feet, grimacing a little and then holding his hand out to her. "Let's remedy that."

She took his hand without giving it a second thought and then it was too late to stick to her no physical contact rule, but she'd kick herself over it later.

He guided her down the hall, pushing open the guest room doors. "Every one has its own bathroom for privacy," he told her. "There's four guest rooms, so anytime you don't feel like driving back to Smallville, you're welcome to one."

"I didn't realize it was this big," she told him, raising her eyebrows and looking inside the room.

"Bigger than it looks," he admitted with a small smile. "And that one's mine." He pointed toward the room at the very end on the right.

Chloe looked in the direction he was pointing and unconsciously squeezed his hand, "where you should be heading. You look like you're in a pretty decent amount of pain."

He glanced at her, a small smile touching his lips. "Yeah. Here's hoping I can sleep."

"Too tense?" She asked, cocking her head and frowning a little.

"The aspirin hasn't kicked in." He shrugged. "It will."

"Okay," Chloe said, turning her hand in hers and looking up at him, "this is going to hurt, but if I can find the right place, it should help."

He raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"Relax your hand," she told him, "Lois used to date this pre-med guy and he taught her this," she turned his hand slightly and pinched the nerve between his index finger and his thumb.

He winced a little involuntarily, raising his eyebrows again as some of the pressure in his head eased. "Well that's...unexpected."

"Did it help?" She asked, surprised as loosened her grip on his hand.

"Yeah, some." He met her eyes. "You have talented hands, Sidekick." He grinned.

Chloe smirked up at him, trying to ignore the innuendo, "I think your nerve is easier to find, I can never get it to work on myself or Lois."

Oliver smirked back at her. "Well, when you have a headache let me know and I'll try it on you."

"Well, I'm pretty sure you would have no problems with it, we all know you are incredibly talented with your hands," she just couldn't stop herself.

"Yeah but only one person here can actually vouch for that from experience," he responded, unable to stop himself, either. He winked at her.

"What?" She cocked her head, if he wasn't bothered by it, she didn't feel the need to pull back either, "you can't vouch for yourself?"

"Yeah, but if I vouch for it it just sounds egotistical," he said with a chuckle.

"Well, not when I know it's the truth," she pointed out, raising her eyebrows.

Oliver grinned at her. "Point."

She grinned back at him, ignoring the memories that were playing in the back of her head, "think you can sleep now?"

"Now it might be difficult for _other_ reasons," he teased, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "But yeah."

"Yeah, well, cold shower and bed," she said, taking a deep breath and squeezing his hand back.

Oliver smiled at her. "Night, Chloe." He reluctantly let go of her hand.

"Night, Ollie," she told him quietly, smiling softly, "thanks for letting me stay."

"Anytime," he said just as quietly, holding her gaze for a moment, and then heading down the hall to his bedroom.

She watched him go then took a deep breath, she had to run downstairs and grab her stuff but she would definitely be taking her own advice and taking a cold shower too.

* * * 

It had all gone terribly wrong.

One minute, he'd been unlocking the shackles from a prisoner's hand and the next minute, blinding pain had torn through his gut and he found himself on the floor, blood pooling around him. Not good.

"Impulse? Need some assistance," he said, gritting his teeth against the pain.

"Arrow?" Chloe called, frowning, "what happened?"

He held his breath for a moment, fighting to keep from blacking out as he looked down at his stomach and then up at the man who'd shot him. "Incapacitated at the moment."

"Impulse!" Chloe said, her eyes widening at Ollie's reply.

"On my way, Watchtower," he said, taking down the guy with the gun before walking over to Oliver, his eyes widening, "I'm bringing him back to headquarters," Bart said, his stomach turning as he lifted Oliver off of the ground with difficulty.

Oliver winced. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Just hang on, man." Bart said, before taking a deep breath then running him to the house Oliver had rented for the weekend and laying him down on the floor.

"What happened?" Chloe asked, her eyes wide as she suddenly saw the two of them standing there.

He shut his eyes, pressing a hand to the wound in his stomach. "I don't even know where the hell that guy came from. He wasn't there a second before." He grimaced, trying to sit up.

"Go help the others, I'll stay with him," Chloe told Bart, rushing to her bag as she felt the strong wind then picking up a towel and rushing back to Oliver's side.

Oliver forced himself to take a deep breath. "I think it was a clean shot."

"You were _shot_?" she asked, kneeling next to him and reaching to open his vest, her stomach turning at the amount of blood that came gushing out.

"Not the first time. Still hurts like a bitch." He grimaced, taking the towel from her and pressing it against the wound.

Chloe pushed the vest aside then turned him on his side, her stomach dropping as she saw the blood was coming out through the bullet wound in his back too, "you need a hospital," she told him, her head spinning, "I'm calling Clark."

Oliver watched as the color drained from her face. "Chloe, _breathe_."

She looked up at him, her eyes wide, "you don't know what that bullet hit, you _need_ a hospital." She told him, her voice firm as she pressed part of the towel to his back, doing her best to stop the bleeding.

"Just don't pass out on me," he told her, letting out a slow breath. "Call Clark to take me to a hospital and you finish guiding the guys through this mission."

Nodding, she took a deep breath, "I need to change your clothes, you can't go to the hospital like this. Don't move." She told him, getting up and taking off his boots as quickly as she could then starting to take off his pants without hesitating, barely aware of what she was doing.

Oliver was in too much pain to think about the fact that she was undressing him. He laid his head back on the floor, shutting his eyes as he kept pressure on the wound.

Once she had pulled a pair of pants from his backpack and had, with some difficulty, pulled them up all the way, she took a deep breath and yelled, as loud as she could "CLARK!" She knew he would be pissed at her because he didn't know she was in the mission with Oliver, even if he knew she was working with him again, but she didn't care.

Oliver winced at the scream--both at the loudness of it and the realization that he was probably going to have to sit through yet another Clark-Kent-I-Know-Better-Than-You lecture in the near future. On the plus side, maybe he'd bleed out first.

She had just zipped up Oliver's jeans when a strong wind hit them, she looked up at Clark with wide eyes, "he needs a hospital."

"What happened?" Clark asked, taking in the scene in front of him.

"Got shot," Oliver responded, sitting up slowly, and keeping the towel pressed to his stomach. "Gonna have to go somewhere remote where I won't be recognized."

"Take him to that place you took me when I showed up at the fortress," Chloe asked Clark, looking at him as she moved to stand up.

Clark's jaw clenched but he nodded, picking up Oliver then disappearing.


	5. Chapter 5

A couple of days later found the hospital staff happily releasing a very unhappy Oliver Queen. Fortunately the bullet hadn't done damage to any major organs, but he had lost a lot of blood and was still extremely weak and tired. The food was terrible, the painkillers didn't work nearly as well as he would have liked, and the bed was stiff and uncomfortable. He hadn't slept more than a few hours in the three days he'd been there so on top of being hungry and in pain, he was exhausted.

The fact that Clark Kent was staring at him with narrowed eyes and a displeased look didn't help his mood, either. He knew that lecture he'd been dreading was finally about to take place, and he wondered if the other man would wait until he was back at his own home or if he'd get it before he'd even signed the last of the discharge papers.

"Are you okay to walk?" Clark asked, although his arms remained crossed over his chest.

"Yeah. I got it." He slid out of bed slowly, exhaling and making his way over to the small closet where his things were. 

Clark nodded, watching Oliver as he moved around the room, "will you need anything when we get back?"

"I should be set," he told Clark, biting down hard on his tongue as he pulled a clean shirt on over his head. He paused for a moment, then glanced over at Clark. "Thank you for your help."

Clark nodded a little and took a deep breath, he had talked to Chloe already and she told him he wasn't allowed to yell or blame Oliver for anything or accuse him of putting her in danger, she told him it had been _her_ choice to go with them, but he couldn't help himself, "I'm not comfortable with Chloe helping you and your team," he said finally, "but I don't mind helping."

And there it was. He was silent for a moment. "It's not your call to make, Clark. But we'd be glad to have you on the team, as well."

"You know you can give me a call when you need my help," Clark told him.

Oliver raised an eyebrow at that, turning to look at him again as he slid his coat on carefully. "Good to know. We appreciate it." 

He nodded, he didn't mind helping, and this way, he also got to make sure Chloe was okay. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." He was silent for a moment. "Clark, you should know that I would never intentionally put Chloe in harm's way."

Clark's jaw tensed, "then you shouldn't be taking her with you."

"She was literally _miles_ away from the facility. She was completely safe."

"She could have done this from Metropolis or Smallville, then," Clark reasoned.

"I want her to feel like she's really part of the team," he told Clark, shaking his head. 

Clark shook his head, "if something happens to her, Oliver..." He warned.

Oliver's eyes narrowed. "I won't let that happen."

"I'll hold you to that." Clark said, staring at Oliver.

His jaw tightened a little and he forced himself to take a deep breath. "There's nothing more important to me than the safety of the people on my team."

Clark stared at him for a moment longer, "I'll get you back."

"I appreciate that."

* * *

It was a little after seven when Chloe made her way up to the top of the Clocktower, balancing the pizza in her hand as she pushed the gate open, the place was completely silent so she frowned a little then shrugged, he was probably drugged up and asleep and if that was the case, she'd just leave him the food and a note.

"Oliver?" She tried, not too loud so she wouldn't wake him if he was sleeping.

He was startled by the sound of her voice and his eyebrows furrowed a little as he stepped out of his secret room, looking at her. "Chloe?" He took in the sight of the box of pizza she was carrying and smiled a bit.

"Hey, I thought you might be sleeping," she said, smiling softly, glad to see him walking around.

"I woke up awhile ago," he admitted, returning her smile. "You come bearing food. I think I need to up your salary." 

She grinned and wrinkled her nose, shaking her head, "well, this isn't a business-related visit, I'm bringing food for my friend, not my boss."

At that, his smile brightened. "Well, it's much appreciated. Make yourself at home. I've got water, tea and milk. Or I could make some coffee, but I don't think it'd go so great with pizza." He paused. "You are...staying to help me eat the pizza, right?"

"Of course," she told him, raising her eyebrows, smiling a little as she set the pizza down on the counter, "water will be fine, but you sit down, I'll get it."

Oliver stretched his arms above his head, grimacing a little as it pulled against the stitches in his gut. "All right. Thanks. Glasses are above the sink," he told her, moving to sit down.

"Okay, what do you wanna drink?" She asked as she placed her purse on the counter too then made her way to grab the glasses.

"Water's good," he answered, watching her move around his kitchen.

Chloe filled both glasses with water and ice then placed them on the table before going back and looking around for a moment then picking up two plates and the pizza box and joining him on the table, taking the seat in front of his, "how are you feeling?"

He'd been home for a couple of days, and he'd spent most of that time in bed, unconscious. "I'm all right," he told her with a small smile, watching as she sat down.

"Should you even be walking?" She asked, opening the box and holding it out in his direction, "Bart said he came by yesterday and that you were completely out and Clark said you'd be out for the rest of the night when he brought you back, so I didn't want to bother you." But then she couldn't wait any longer, she had to make sure he was okay.

Oliver pulled out a piece of the pizza and set it on his plate. Somehow, he wasn't surprised Clark had told her that. And while the rational part of his brain told him it was because Clark knew he needed to get some rest, the irrational part told him in a bitter, sarcastic voice that it was just to keep Chloe away from him. Realizing she was waiting on an answer, he smiled faintly once more and shrugged. "You wouldn't have been, for the record."

She smiled at that and set the box back down then pulled a slice to her own plate, "well, you're better company when you actually answer me back."

"Huh." He grinned. "Not everyone would agree with that."

Chloe grinned back and picked up her pizza, smirking, "I might change my mind, but for now, you're good," she smirked.

Oliver chuckled and then immediately grimaced, shutting his eyes and pressing a hand to his stomach.

Wincing, Chloe stood up and looked at him worriedly, "why don't you lay down and I'll bring the food?"

He shook his head, holding his other hand up. "I'm all right."

"You're in pain, Ollie, and sitting and putting pressure on your wound like that isn't helping you, c'mon," she told him, taking his arm.

"I don't like getting crumbs in the sheets." He looked up at her, raising his eyebrows.

Chloe gave him a look and raised her eyebrows back at him, "I'll clean them for you."

Oliver frowned. "I hardly pay you enough to do my laundry, Chloe."

"Who said anything about laundry? I'll just get them off of the bed," she told him, smirking a little, "besides, I already told you, I'm not here as your employee, I'm here as your friend."

"Are _you_ going to be comfortable eating pizza in my bed?"

"I'm a big girl, Ollie, I think I can stand to be in a bed with you and keep my pants on," she told him, arching a single brow.

His eyes widened ever-so-slightly.

"C'mon," she told him, tugging on his arm again.

Oliver sighed softly and slowly rose to his feet, exhaling slowly as some of the pressure on his wound subsided.

Chloe held on to his arm and watched him closely, "okay?"

He nodded a little, looking down at his piece of pizza and picking up his plate as his stomach growled hungrily.

She frowned a little, "go ahead, I'll bring the rest," she told him, not wanting to be too in his face about this.

"Thanks, Green Eyes," he teased softly, winking at her and slowly heading back toward his bedroom.

Chloe watched him for a moment then balancing her plate and both their glasses on top of the pizza box and picking it up then following him slowly not to drop anything.

Oliver set his pizza plate down on the bedside table and slowly climbed back in it--he hadn't bothered to make it because frankly he hadn't intended to be out of it for as long as he already had been. He blew out a breath as he stretched out carefully, leaning back against the headboard.

She paused as she entered the bedroom then looked around, considering her options for a moment then walking around the bed and placing the box on the other bedside table, "when was the last time you ate?"

He flashed her a charming grin and quickly took a bite of the pizza to avoid answering.

"Since the hospital, then?" She asked, cocking her head.

Oliver shrugged a little and nodded as he chewed. "And it was terrible food," he told her after he swallowed.

"I'm coming by with lunch tomorrow," it wasn't a question, it was very much an affirmation, "and you're going to stay in bed."

"Not that I mind your company, because I really don't, but I can just heat up whatever's left of the pizza."

She paused at that and nodded, clearly he wasn't comfortable with being taken care of and she really shouldn't be invading his personal space like this anyway, "right, you can do that."

He glanced at her sideways. "I just don't want to be a bother, Chloe. You have a life."

"Arguable," she told him then shrugged a little, "but I get it, you probably wanna be left alone."

He frowned. "That's not what I said."

"It's okay, Oliver, I get it, I don't like people asking me if I'm okay every five minutes when I'm hurt or sick," she told him, taking another bite of her pizza.

He sighed softly and took another bite of pizza, as well, frustrated.

She looked down at her plate, shifting a little on the bed, "do you have all the meds you need?"

He set his slice of pizza down on the plate. "Yeah. They sent me home with Vicodin." He gazed at her.

Chloe kept her eyes on her plate and just nodded a little, "okay, you can let me know if you need anything, I'm less than a block away."

"Chloe."

She raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him, she was trying her best not to take it personally, but she was having a hard time with it.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "It's new for me." His voice was quiet and he held her gaze.

Pursing her lips together, she cocked her head a little, "what is?"

"Having a woman in my life who's actually my friend and not after something," he admitted.

Her face fell at that and she paused, watching him closely then nodding slightly, "right..."

"I'm not used to someone actually caring," he told her softly.

She looked down then took a deep breath, her chest tightening as she thought about how lonely that sounded, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"You don't," he whispered, reaching over and laying a hand on her arm. "Like I said it's just...new."

Chloe nodded, taking a deep breath and smiling a little at him as she placed her plate on her lap and covered his hand with hers, "being here isn't a chore and neither would be coming by tomorrow to check on you." She said sincerely.

Oliver looked down at their hands and smiled a little, too. "All right," he said, nodding.

She nodded a little, holding his gaze, "but if you're really not comfortable with it, you can tell me."

"I'm okay with it. I really just didn't want to be a burden." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"You're not," she told him, brushing her fingers over his hand and keeping her eyes on him.

"All right." Oliver held her gaze, relaxing a little.

She smiled a little more and nodded at his pizza, "you need to eat."

"Yeah, I'm starving," he admitted with a faint grin, picking up his pizza and taking a bite.

Chloe smiled and let go of his hand then shifted on the bed, leaning against the headboard too and picking her pizza up again, "let me know when you're ready for more."

"Clark said the rest of the mission went okay?"

"Yeah," she told him after she finished with another bite, "they got everyone out, facility has been destroyed, everyone is okay."

Oliver nodded a little, finishing off his slice of pizza. "Good," he murmured.

She placed the rest of her slice on her plate again then reached for his plate and placed another slice on it before handing it over to him again.

He grinned at her. "Thanks."

Chloe smiled at him and shrugged a little, "so how many times have you been shot before?"

"Twice," he told her with a small smile.

"Where was the other time?" She asked quietly.

"You mean the time when it wasn't Lex?" he asked, knowing she was aware of that time.

"Yeah," she said quietly, pursing her lips as she remembered what Clark had told her about that time.

Oliver leaned back against the pillows for a moment, chewing. "Star City. One of the first times I was out patrolling."

"Were you badly injured?" She asked quietly, watching him.

"It wasn't pleasant," he admitted. "But it was just a shoulder shot."

Chloe winced, nodding a little, "sounds painful," she told him, finishing her slice.

"I was stupid. I didn't know what I was doing," he admitted.

"How old were you?" she asked curiously, placing her plate on the bedside table then leaning against the pillows too.

"Twenty-four," he told her, glancing at her sideways.

Chloe considered for a moment then nodded, watching him, "and now you know better than to take men with guns for granted?"

A smile tugged at his mouth. "Apparently not," he said wryly.

"It was dark this time around," she pointed out, smirking a little.

He smirked back at her. "Works for me."

She nodded then relaxed a little against the pillows, the bed was ridiculously comfortable, even more so than the one she'd slept on when she spent the night a few days ago, "how long will you be out for?"

"You mean how long off patrolling?"

"Yeah," she said quietly, turning her head to look at him again.

Oliver blew out a breath. "The doctors advised no strenuous activity for six weeks." He grimaced.

Chloe made a face and nodded a little, "and bed rest for how long?"

"I didn't catch that part?" he asked hopefully.

She raised an eyebrow and gave him a look.

He sighed. "A couple weeks," he confessed.

"Well, I meant what I said earlier, whatever you need, I can come by either during lunch or after work, even if you just need company, you can let me know," she said, smiling softly at him, "and it won't be a burden."

He smiled at her. "You're welcome here anytime," he said quietly.

"I'll keep that in mind," she told him, her face softening and she suddenly felt like leaning over and kissing him, but she didn't. If Oliver was that surprised someone would want to take care of him without wanting anything in return, she definitely didn't want him to think she was doing this because she expected sex or anything like that.

Oliver watched her for a moment, then finished off his second slice of pizza, pausing before he reached out to touch her arm again. "Chloe?"

"Yeah?" She said, holding her breath a little and turning to look at him again.

"If you wanted to stay here instead of driving back to Smallville, I wouldn't mind."

Her heart skipped a beat a the offer and she looked at him for a moment, she wanted to stay, both because she enjoyed his company and because that way she could keep an eye on him but, "I don't have anything with me here..." she said quietly, "but I would feel better staying here to make sure you're not hurting yourself."

"You can wear anything in the closet," he offered. "It'll all be quite a bit bigger on you, but..."

Chloe considered for a moment, she was more worried about clothes for work tomorrow, but she supposed she could just drive back to Smallville at some point during the day, so she nodded, smiling softly, "I think I can deal with that."

"Or we could call Bart and see if he could get some of your things."

"I'll be okay," she assured him, "and maybe tomorrow I can go home and pick up some things and just stay here for a couple of days so you can heal?"

Oliver met her eyes and smiled a bit. "I'd like the company," he admitted.

"Okay, good," she told him, relaxing a little and smiling back at him.

He smiled a little more and laid his head back against the pillows, closing his eyes.

"Do you want more pizza?" She offered, reaching to take the plate from his lap.

"No, I'm good. Thanks," he murmured, yawning involuntarily.

She couldn't help but smile softly, "do you want to take your drugs and go to sleep?" She asked, already moving to get up from the bed.

He yawned again. "Already had them. Stay," he told her, not opening his eyes.

Her chest tightened a little but she nodded, "I'll just put the pizza in the fridge and I'll be back."

"All right." He slid down beneath the covers a little more.

She picked up their plates and went to the kitchen, coming back a moment later and turning off the lights to the bedroom but letting the hallway one on, she'd need it later, she planned on getting up, showering, changing and going into one of his guest rooms, but she wanted him to make sure he knew she was there for him, so she got back on the bed, under the covers and checked to make sure he wasn't asleep already.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Thank you," he whispered.

Chloe smiled softly and moved to lay down next to him, reaching for his hand, "nothing to thank me for, let me know if you need anything."

His fingers curled around hers as he nodded against his pillow. "You know where everything is, right?'

"Mostly, I'll figure it out," she promised quietly.

"Okay. Night, Chloe."

"Night, Ollie." She whispered, relaxing against the bed and closing her eyes. She could rest until he fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Chloe had ended up spending three days at the Clocktower with Oliver and the more she was around him, the more she was surprised how well they got along. She had stopped by during lunch a couple of times since and even a couple of times for dinner but then things had gotten crazy on the Clark front and she had been helping him pretty much non-stop. It had been over a week since she last spent the night at Oliver's but she found herself wanting to do nothing more than just that that night.

It had been a long few days, she was exhausted but she hadn't even realized how until a few hours ago, when Lex _fired_ her from the Daily Planet. She didn't react at all at first, she finished helping Clark with his things and once she was done with him, she was about to go home but found herself driving back to the Planet. She still had to clear her desk and she'd rather do it late at night than during the day when she would have all those curious eyes on her and as she boxed all her things up, that was when it hit her.

The Planet hadn't been the paper it used to be since Lex took it over and although it always broke her heart to see clear signs of his hold on it in every corner, it was still _The Daily Planet_ , the paper she'd been dreaming about working at since her second grade class took a field trip there. Since she was eight years old. She had worked her entire life to get her foot through that door, to get that press pass with her name on it, to get a step closer to being the star reporter of the Daily Planet and bring the truth to the citizens of Metropolis. And Lex had just taken that away from her in the blink of an eye.

Not because she wasn't a good reporter, not because she'd been unethical somehow, but because he could and because he knew it would hurt her the most, and he had been right.

After she packed her car, she locked it and started down the familiar path to the Clocktower, she felt like walking, walking might help clear her mind, but she wasn't even halfway there and suddenly, it started pouring rain, within seconds, she was soaking wet, but she didn't care, she kept on walking, wrapping her arms around herself to help with the cold. At least the fact that she was wet might take away attention from the puffiness and redness of her eyes, although, she really didn't care if he noticed, she just didn't want to drive to Smallville, she wasn't sure if she _could_ drive to Smallville in the state she was in, but mostly, she didn't want to be alone.

Dripping water all over the expensive marble floor, she made her way to the elevator, her teeth clenched together, her body shaking slightly from the cold, she just hoped he would be awake as the elevator made its way to the top floor.

Oliver was more than a little surprised by the sound of the elevator ascending toward his apartment suite, his eyebrows furrowing as he sat up slowly on the sofa. The pain had diminished from severe to constant throbbing when the drugs began to wear off, but overall he felt better. He was getting restless, actually. He wanted to get back out on the streets where he belonged, but he wasn't suicidal. He knew it was too soon. Still, it was now after Midnight and although the guys and Chloe had all come by several times to check on him over the last couple weeks, he hadn't seen anyone in over forty-eight hours.

Something was wrong.

And the moment the elevator door opened and he laid eyes on Chloe, arms wrapped around herself, shivering and soaked to the bone from the cold rain, his eyes widened and he quickly rose to his feet. "Chloe? What happened?"

She let out a breath she'd been holding all the way up to the top floor as her eyes fell on him, she reached out to open the gate, but didn't step out of the elevator, not wanting to get his apartment wet, "I was walking over and it started raining." She told him.

"Come out of there," he said, moving over and holding his hand out toward her.

"I'm gonna get everything wet," she told him, still not moving, but she couldn't stop herself from shivering.

Oliver frowned and stepped into the elevator. "I don't care. Come on. Come in here and I'll get you a towel and some dry clothes."

She stepped toward him hesitantly, taking a deep, shaky breath, she also hadn't realized how cold it was outside until now.

He guided her off the elevator, and placed a kiss on top of her head without thinking about it before he turned and headed to get her a towel.

Chloe wrapped her arms around herself again as she followed, wanting to step inside the closest bathroom, not to make the damage any bigger than it had to be.

When he turned around, he was surprised to see her right behind him. His eyes widened just a little and he wrapped the big fluffy towel around her, rubbing it over her arms and meeting her eyes. "What's going on?" he asked quietly.

She took a deep breath, relaxing a little at the warmth of the towel, and looked up at him, swallowing before she could get the words out, "Lex fired me." 

Oliver stilled, staring at her, his chest tightening. Underneath the shivering and drenched cold, he could see right through to the pain, the devastation in her eyes. That job had been her _dream_ , and Lex had damn well known it. "I'm sorry," he whispered, lifting a hand to her cheek.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, leaning into his touch for a moment before looking at him again, "I knew it was going to happen sooner or later..." she whispered.

He gazed at her, his eyes sad as he brushed his thumb lightly over her cheek. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, then slid his arms around her. "Doesn't make it any easier."

Chloe leaned against him instantly, hesitating just a moment before unwrapping her arms from around herself and wrapping them around him instead, careful not to put pressure against his wound, "I didn't want to drive back," she admitted quietly.

Oliver closed his eyes, resting his chin atop her head. "It's okay," he assured her, glad she'd come by. She was visibly upset and driving like that wouldn't have been a good idea.

"And I wanted to see you," she murmured against his chest, closing her eyes too.

Oliver swallowed hard, lifting one hand to her head and gently stroking her hair. "Been a few days," he whispered. "I missed you, too."

Sniffing softly, she nodded slightly but didn't pull away, "I'm sorry," she whispered, "Clark needed help and I couldn't make it here." 

"Shh," he murmured. "It's okay. Things happen. I understand," he said sincerely.

Nodding slightly, she pulled her head back and opened her eyes, looking up at him, "am I hurting you?"

Oliver met her eyes and smiled faintly. "No. I'm fine," he promised.

Chloe tried for a smile then looked down, her face falling, "I'm getting water everywhere."

"It'll dry, Chloe. It's just water. But maybe you should take a hot shower and warm up." He pulled her close again.

She actually smiled a little at the contradiction between his words and his actions, but nodded in agreement as she tightened her arms around him once more, she didn't know when she had decided to turn to Oliver for comfort, but she was glad she had because she knew going to Clark or even Lois wouldn't be nearly as effective. 

"Come on," he whispered against her ear. "I'll get you some clean, dry clothes while you shower." He reached out and turned the water on, turning it to hot.

"Thank you," she said quietly, pulling the towel from her shoulders then stepping closer to him and taking his hand before tiptoeing and kissing his cheek softly.

Oliver held his breath, smiling faintly as he tried to ignore the urge to turn his head and kiss her. She'd had a terrible day and had turned to him as a _friend_ for comfort. He wasn't going to take advantage of that vulnerability. 

Chloe smiled slightly back at him then let go of his hand and took a step back, giving him enough space to leave the room.

He kissed her forehead softly, then moved toward the door. "Take your time."

"Thank you," she told him again, sighing deeply as he closed the door before starting to peel off her soaked clothes, still shivering, she made her way into the bathtub and sighed once more as the scalding water hit her.

Oliver returned a few moments later with some of the clothes she'd left there for nights she stayed over. "I put your clothes on the sink, and there's a fresh towel by them," he told her softly.

Chloe jumped slightly when he spoke but peeked outside the curtain, nodding a little, "thanks, Ollie," she told him quietly, her body felt heavier and heavier every second she stayed under the hot water, between him and the warmth, this was definitely helping her relax.

"Welcome," he said, heading for the door and closing it behind him quietly, swallowing hard. He headed toward the kitchen, figuring she probably hadn't eaten, and set about making macaroni and cheese.

She stepped out of the shower a long time later, after drying herself and changing, she dried the bathroom as well as she could then made her way over to the kitchen, where she could hear him moving around, she frowned slightly when she realized he was cooking, "what are you doing?"

"Cooking?" He offered her a small smile. "Don't get too excited though. Just mac and cheese," he admitted. "But it's supposed to be comfort food, so I figured..."

Her expression softened and she shook her head a little, her chest tightening a little, "you didn't have to make anything."

"I know," he said softly. "But I figured you hadn't eaten. Am I wrong?"

With a deep breath, she shook her head and pursed her lips together.

"Sit," he said softly, nodding toward one of the chairs and then dipping some of the pasta into a bowl and setting it on the table with a spoon. He grabbed a bottle of water from the nearly-empty fridge and set it by the bowl as well.

Chloe looked at him for a moment then sat down in front of the bowl, "did you eat?" She asked quietly, curling a leg under herself as she got comfortable on the chair.

"Earlier," he said with a slight nod, sitting down across from her.

Picking up her spoon, the took a bite of the mac and cheese and smiled a little, nodding, "thank you."

"I'm sorry you had a shitty day," Oliver said quietly. "Lex will get what's coming to him."

She looked up at him and nodded, taking a deep breath, "I know he will and... I know the Planet isn't the paper I've always wanted to work for anymore and I know he would have stopped me from moving any higher anyway, I guess I'm just in shock or, just feel kinda lost thinking I won't wake up in the morning and go to work," she told him quietly, she didn't normally open up like this, but something about Oliver made her feel like she not only could, but she should.

His chest tightened painfully at her admission and he nodded slightly, watching her. "What can I do to help out?" he asked softly.

"You're already doing more than enough, Oliver," she said sincerely.

He reached across the table and laid a hand on her arm wordlessly, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Chloe covered her hand with his and smiled a little, "although, to keep me busy tomorrow, you could at least let me go buy you some groceries."

He grinned at that. "Yeah. I won't protest. And in return, I'll fix dinner for us. Sound okay?" 

"I guess that's fair," she agreed after a moment and smiled softly at him, squeezing his hand before letting go of it and returning to her food, "what's your specialty?"

He shrugged a little. "Usually some kind of grilled meat, but I'm not half bad with Italian food, either."

"Well, just tell me what you get," she told him quietly, "whatever you feel like making," she said as she took another bite of her food.

Oliver watched her for a moment. "Actually if you want to pick something, I'd be happy to make it."

"No, I want you to pick," she told him, "just whatever you feel comfortable making and something that won't be a lot of work."

"All right. Lasagna," he said with a slight nod.

Chloe smiled a little at that and nodded, "sounds good," she told him quietly, taking the last bite of her food then looking down, "I guess I was hungry."

"Do you want some more? There's plenty left," he told her, glancing toward the pan on the stove.

Shaking her head, she took a deep breath and leaned back against her chair, "no, thank you, I'm okay."

Oliver nodded a little, turning back to her once more. "Hot chocolate?" he offered quietly.

She watched him for a moment then sighed softly, shaking her head, "I freaked you out, didn't I?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "No." He shook his head and looked back at her.

"Okay," she said quietly, then stood up and picked up her bowl and glass before making her way to the sink. She'd spent so much time there since they are mission, she felt pretty comfortable finding things around his apartment already.

Oliver rose to his feet, as well. "I'm glad you came here, Chloe," he said sincerely.

She started to wash the dishes and smiled a little at him, holding her breathe and nodding, "I'm glad I did too." She said just as sincerely, because she knew she'd be feeling completely miserable if she had gone home.

He moved up so he was standing beside her at the sink, leaning against it, his body facing her. "Good."   
She glanced up at him for a moment, "I'm surprised you were still up." 

A smile tugged his mouth upward and he shrugged a little. "Now that I'm running out of painkillers my nocturnalism is returning," he joked. 

Chloe smirked a little at that and nodded slightly, "it will be really hard to keep you from patrolling for another whole month, won't it?"

He flashed her an innocent grin.

"Good thing I like challenges," she told him as she picked up a dish cloth and dried the dishes up.

Oliver chuckled, taking the dried dishes from her as she finished them, and tucking them away in their cabinets.

She stretched a little once she was done, then covered her mouth as a yawn caught her by surprise, "you can go to bed if you want to."

"Are you tired?" he asked, watching her intently, and yawning, amused. 

Making a face, she shrugged a little, "kinda?" She was exhausted, but she was also restless and she had the feeling she wasn't going to be able to sleep anytime soon.

"You know what we need?" He raised his eyebrows at her and moved over to another cabinet, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and holding it up so she could see it.

Chloe raised her eyebrows a little at the bottle and smirked, leaning against the counter, "can you even drink with all your medication?"

"Won't be the first time," he said innocently, grabbing two glasses and moving across the floor to sit down at the table once more.

"Well I guess if you haven't died yet..." she said, following him back to the table.

Oliver grinned and set the glasses down, popping the bottle open and pouring each of them a glass. "Exactly."

Chloe reached for the glass as soon he was done pouring it, this would definitely help her sleep.

He watched as she downed the whole glass, his eyebrows raising. Then he shrugged and did the same.

She winced as she placed the glass back down and made a face, her throat felt like it was on fire, "that's horrible."

He chuckled and poured her another, and another for himself, as well. "It's not about the taste."

"I'm aware," she said, picking up the glass and clicking it against his before drinking all of it at once again, shaking her head, "we're going to be miserable in the morning, but at least, we don't have to be anywhere."

"And we can take care of each other." He smiled, downing his second glass, as well. 

"Or pass out on the floor together," she pointed out, picking up the bottle and filling both of their glasses up again.

"Let's aim for a bed," he responded with a grimace. "Much more comfy."

"Walking is overrated," she pointed out, leaning against her chair and taking a deep breath as she drank a third glass, her eyes watering up as she placed it back down.

"Yeah, but one of us is wounded," Oliver reminded her, downing the third glass and pouring himself and her another.

Making a face she nodded but didn't pick up the glass, "then we should get to bed now while we still can. I don't want you to get worse."

"Sounds good to me. Come on." He downed the last glass and left the bottle on the table as he held his arm out to her.

Chloe took a deep breath and drank her forth glass too, her eyes a little wider than normal as she stood up and suddenly, everything started spinning, "woah," she said, holding on to his arm, mostly for support.

"Easy." He slid his arm around her waist to help her better, guiding her down the hall toward his bedroom.

"I didn't think it was going to work so fast," she admitted as they walked down the hall then paused, pouting, "we forgot the bottle."

A grin tugged at his lips involuntarily. "I think we've hit your limit anyway, Green Eyes." He glanced at her sideways.

"Yeah but _you_ are not drunk," she pointed out, cocking her head to look up at him.

"No, not drunk," he agreed. "But I am still medicated, too." He guided her into his room, leading her over to the bed and pulling back the covers on the side he didn't usually occupy.

Chloe sat down on the bed without objections and looked up at him, "I guess I did see you pretty high last week."

He chuckled and slowly moved to the other side of the bed, sitting down on it. "Exactly. See? All's fair."

"I _guess_ ," she said as she laid down against the bed and turned to face his side, "and at least one of us won't be miserable in the morning."

"I'll hold your hair back if you're sick," he said with faint amusement, laying down beside her and meeting her eyes. 

"You're my new best friend," she told him, grinning softly. 

Oliver's eyes brightened. "Yeah, well. Ditto."

Chloe smiled and closed her eyes for a long moment, "I missed you too," she said, opening her eyes slightly, they felt heavy, "this past week, and I'm not just saying this because you got me drunk." She added with a grin.

He watched her for a moment, reaching out and tucking some hair behind her ear and shifting just a little closer to her. "Good to know."

"We're so messed up," she said, smiling softly and shifted closer to him too, wrapping her arm around him.

"Could be worse." He yawned.

"I know," she told him quietly, resting her forehead against his, "you could be trying to kill me."

"Or vice versa." He grinned and shut his eyes.

"At least we have similar life experiences," she smirked softly, closing her eyes too.

"Night, Chloe," he whispered, resting a hand lightly on her side.

"Night," she half whispered, half yawned, her nose brushing against his as she did, "thank you for taking care of me."

A smile tugged at his mouth. "Anytime, Green Eyes."

Chloe smiled softly at the nickname then shifted closer to him, curling up against his side until she got comfortable then sighing deeply and passing out within seconds.


	7. Chapter 7

"Oliver!?" Clark called, his eyes wide as he sped into the Clocktower, looking around just for a second then instinctively making his way toward the master bedroom, his heart beating fast against his chest, "Oliver?" He called again as he made his way down the hall at normal speed.

Oliver jerked his head up and winced as the quick movement made pain shoot through him. He barely sat up before Clark was stepping into the room. "Clark?"

Chloe groaned in her sleep at the sudden noise and movement but just turned her back to the door and didn't wake up.

"Chloe is--" Clark stilled when he saw the person he'd been looking for and considered missing right there on the bed, next to Oliver, "--here?"

Oliver glanced down at the sleeping blond beside him, resting a hand against his stomach for a moment, then tugging the covers up and over her once more before slowly climbing out of bed. "Apparently."

"What is she doing here?" Clark asked, his jaw set and he didn't bother keeping his voice low not to wake her.

"Shh," Oliver said, narrowing his eyes, his own voice low as he pointed to the hallway.

Scowling at him, Clark turned around and walked down the hallway, back to the living room then crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for an explanation.

"She didn't want to drive back to Smallville, so she came here," Oliver informed him, heading into the kitchen.

"Why is she in your bed?" He asked.

"Because she was tired," he said simply.

Clark glared at him for a long moment, "what is going on? Why is her desk empty?"

Oliver was already sick of his attitude. "You know what? Why don't I have Chloe give you a call once she's awake and you can talk to her?"

"Are you sleeping with her?" Clark asked, eyes narrowing.

 _Not regularly_ , he thought, his jaw tightening. "No, but if I was, it wouldn't be any of your business."

"You better not hurt her, Oliver."

"Don't worry, my name isn't Jimmy Olsen." Or Clark Kent.

"You hurt Lois," Clark pointed out, "and she is Chloe's _cousin_ , you're probably going to hurt her even more when she hears about this."

His jaw tightened a little more. "First of all, Chloe and I are friends, Clark. Secondly, Lois and I have been over for a long time. It was her decision not to give us a second chance, but we stayed friends."

"And either way, you won't be saying anything about this to Lois," Chloe said as she appeared in the living room, her head throbbing, her stomach grumbling, but when she heard Clark's voice, she knew she couldn't let Ollie deal with him alone.

Clark looked from Oliver to Chloe, his expression going from anger to worry, "I've been looking all over for you."

Oliver's expression softened when he looked over at Chloe, as well. He fell silent, leaning against the counter.

"I'm okay," she assured him, "just had a bad night."

"Your desk was empty," he told her worriedly, "I stopped by to bring you coffee and all your things were gone."

Chloe's stomach clenched at the reminder and she nodded a little, pursing her lips, "Lex fired me."

Oliver gazed at her for a moment, then silently shifted his gaze back to Clark, his expression neutral. Wordlessly he moved to start a pot of coffee and downed three Excederin.

Clark's eyes widened at that, "because of me?"

"Because he wanted to show me he has the power to do so," Chloe said, shrugging a little, "it's fine," it wasn't, "I'll figure it out," even if she had no idea were to even begin.

Oliver couldn't help but feel like he was intruding, so he gave Chloe's hand a gentle squeeze as he passed, heading back toward the bedroom once more.

"I'm sorry, Chloe," Clark said quietly.

Chloe glanced at Ollie then took a deep breath, "thank you, but we both know you have more important things to worry about. We'll talk later?"

Clark pursed his lips together and nodded a little, "I'll see you later," he told her, still looking apologetic as he sped out.

Oliver rubbed his hands over his face as he moved back to the bed and laid down, shutting his eyes as he exhaled slowly.

Chloe sighed deeply then started her way back to the bedroom, "he's gone," she told Ollie, then paused when she saw he was laying back down.

He lifted his head up and offered her a faint smile. "How ya feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a mack truck," she told him, walking around the bed and laying back down too.

He grimaced a little. "Can I get you anything? Want some aspirin?"

"I'll get them," she said but didn't move, "how are you feeling?"

"All right," he told her, turning his head to look at her. "Not hungover. I'll get the aspirin."

"No, Ollie," she opened her eyes and moved to sit up, "I'll get them."

"I started some coffee. I don't know if you're up for that or not."

Her face softened at that and she smiled at him, "you're a God," she said as she pushed herself up, "do you want anything?"

"No. I'm good," he assured her, grinning involuntarily at her words.

"Okay, I'll be right back," she said quietly before disappearing down the hall again.

Oliver watched her go, still grinning. He shook his head a little and laid it back on the pillow, waiting for her to come back.

Chloe made her way back a moment later, turning off all the lights on her way then making her way back under the covers after placing her mug on the bedside table. She should have been questioning why she had made her way back into his room, why she'd much rather sleep in his bed, but she had enough question marks to worry about in her life right now, so she was just going to go with her gut when it came to Ollie, "okay, now I'm set."

"Cool. What time is it anyway?" he asked, yawning.

"I have no idea," she said quietly, "but if Clark was going by with coffee, probably around nine-thirty."

"Oh. Early." He turned onto his side so he was facing her, then reached out and laid a hand on her arm. "How are you doing?" And this time he didn't mean physically.

She turned her head to look at him and took a deep breath, catching the meaning behind his question, "I'm okay, I think."

"We'll figure it out," he whispered.

"I know," she said quietly before turning to face him, "it will just feel weird for a while."

Oliver gazed at her for a moment. "You have a lot of options, but there's no rush to make any decisions until you're ready."

"Like what?" She asked, sincerely curious to find out what he was thinking.

He considered for a moment. "It depends on what you want to do. I'd be more than happy to help you get a position at any other paper in the country, for one."

Chloe nodded slightly and pursed her lips together, "assuming Lex hasn't blacklisted me."

"I'll let you in on a secret." He leaned in closer to her, smirking. "I have more influence than he does."

"Really?" she asked, unconsciously leaning in a little closer too and raising her eyebrows.

"Absolutely." He smiled, searching her eyes. "There are a lot of doubts and questions around the Luthor name."

"Well, in that case," she said quietly, smiling a little, "I might take you up on your offer."

He nodded slightly, still watching her.

Suddenly, she felt like something changed in his eyes and she found herself holding her breath, without giving it a second thought, she lifted her hand to cup his cheek. Oliver leaned into her touch, holding his breath for a moment, too, then raising his hand to cover hers.

She held his gaze for a moment longer then leaned closer, brushing her lips softly against his, her heart beating fast against her chest, she had been the one to put them in the friend zone, she had to be the one to take them back out.

His eyes drifted shut as he kissed her back slowly, nibbling gently on her lower lip and then soothing it with his tongue. Chloe relaxed as he kissed her back and reached to cup the back of his head, parting her lips for him. Oliver brushed his nose lightly over hers, moving his hand to her cheek as he slowly deepened the kiss.

She shifted on the bed, moving closer to him and making a quiet noise as she brushed her tongue against his.

That soft noise she made caused him to shift closer to her, as well, his hand sliding into her hair as his mouth and tongue explored hers. He groaned softly at the intensity, the familiarity.

A shiver ran down her spine when he groaned and she shifted as close to him as she could, pressing her body against his, but stopping herself from wrapping her leg around him like she wanted to, because she was far too aware of the bullet hole in his stomach.

Oliver slid his hand slowly down the back of her neck, breaking the kiss in order to breathe, but pressing a kiss against her jaw.

Chloe took a deep breath and kept her eyes closed, "Ollie," she whispered, forcing herself to open her eyes.

He paused, swallowing hard and pulling away to look at her uncertainly. "Yeah?" he whispered.

"I don't want to hurt you," she whispered, cupping his cheek.

He relaxed a little at that, nodding slightly and gazing at her.

She brushed her nose against his and smiled a little, "a whole month."

Oliver kissed the corner of her mouth softly. "Does that mean...?"

Chloe bit down on her bottom lip and smiled shyly, shrugging a little, "I think it's stupid to deny both of us something we want, don't you?"

He smiled softly at that. "You were scared," he said quietly. "You've been through a lot. I get that."

"I think this might be a better way to start, anyway," she shrugged, "slower, mostly because we have no other choice."

He nodded a little, watching her. "For the record, I would have waited," he whispered.

"I've been wanting to take away our 'friends-only' status for a while now," she admitted.

A smile tugged at his lips and he nodded a little. "We'll go as slow as you need, Chloe. You can set the pace here."

Chloe smiled softly and shook her head, "what are _you_ comfortable with?"

"You," he said softly, lifting a hand to her cheek and gently stroking her skin with his thumb.

Her expression softened and she nodded slowly, turning her head and pressing a kiss to his thumb. Oliver leaned in and kissed her forehead softly, closing his eyes.

She relaxed and wrapped an arm around him, smiling softly, "should we go back to bed for a while?"

"I like this plan," he said, nodding and resting his head on her pillow.

"Good," she told him, brushing her nose against his, "and I'll go to the store when we wake up."

"Or we could just...order take in," he said with a grin.

"Well, for lunch," she told him, arching an eyebrow, "but I was promised homemade lasagna for dinner and I will settle for nothing else," she smirked.

Oliver chuckled. "Point." He nodded. "And homemade lasagna you'll get."

"Awesome," she said, grinning a little and kissing his cheek.

He shifted in the bed, sliding his arm underneath her and pulling her closer. "Get some rest."

Chloe kissed him softly once more, rubbing her hand over his back slowly and nodding, "you too."

"Definitely." He leaned his head against hers, sliding his other arm around her gently.

She sighed deeply and nodded a little, closing her eyes as she brushed his back in random patterns even as she relaxed on the bed, starting to fall asleep.

Oliver relaxed once more, as well, a soft smile on his lips as he drifted back to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly as he paced the length of the jet, waiting for Chloe and her father to arrive. He'd never met Gabe Sullivan but he'd heard good things about him--and not just from Chloe. He was respected by everyone who wasn't a Luthor, which to Oliver, said a lot. He stopped pacing long enough to pick up his bottle of water and take a sip. No alcohol for the flight.

Somehow he didn't think being trashed during his first meeting with Chloe's dad was the impression he wanted to make.

"Ollie?" Chloe called, walking up the steps of the jet, she knew he was nervous, which she thought was adorable, but she thought he was going to get along great with her dad. Even though Chloe had never officially introduced a boyfriend to him before she knew they'd be okay; she had told her dad not to be too hard on Ollie just in case since they were only officially dating for about two weeks now and since they'd been friends for a while, they were going through this transition slowly.

He drew in a quick breath before moving over to the steps and holding his hand out to help her in. He smiled softly. "Hey."

Chloe took his hand and smiled at him, squeezing his hand softly, "hey."

Gabe was right behind Chloe, carrying both of their suitcases, "sure this little plane can get us all the way over there?" He asked as soon as he set the suitcases down.

"Absolutely," Oliver said with a warm smile, squeezing Chloe's hand and then letting go to shake Gabe's. "Mr. Sullivan. Nice to meet you."

"Call me Gabe," he said, shaking Oliver's hand, "nice to meet you too."

"The jet will be taking off shortly. Can I get either of you something to drink?" he offered.

"I'll have a coke," Chloe told him, smiling reassuringly at him.

"No, thanks," Gabe said, looking around the plane nervously.

Chloe patted his shoulder and shook her head, "it's fine, Dad. Ollie has taken this plane all over the world, maybe you should have some alcohol to help you calm your nerves."

He raised his eyebrows a little at that. "I do have scotch and wine."

Gabe raised an eyebrow and sat down at the seat Chloe had led him too, "I'll take the scotch, on the rocks."

Chloe smirked a little and kissed the top of her dad's head, "better."

"Coming right up," Oliver told him with a small smile, heading toward the back of the jet.

Chloe smiled and sat down next to her dad, "told you he was a good guy, he has scotch."

"Can't go wrong with scotch." Gabe smiled faintly.

She patted his hand and smiled, nodding, "exactly."

He glanced back toward where Ollie had vanished, then looked at her. "He seems...nice."

Chloe grinned softly at her that and nodded, "I know you have to do the dad thing, but he _is_ one of the good guys," she cocked her head, "I did mention he hates Lex and Lex hates him, right?" She teased, knowing she'd mentioned it a hundred times.

That earned her a small smile. "And he likes you, so it seems he has good judgment."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Chloe grinned, squeezing her dad's hand again.

Gabe squeezed her hand back and looked up as Oliver made his way back, carrying a Coke for Chloe and a glass of scotch for him. "Thank you."

Oliver smiled at him and nodded, handing the Coke to Chloe.

"Thanks," Chloe said, looking up at him and holding his gaze and smiling brightly at him then winking, hoping it would get him to relax a little.

He nodded, sitting down across from them and swallowing hard. "You're welcome," he told them both.

"How much time are you expecting to spend working while we're there?" Chloe asked, trying to make conversation.

"I've got several meetings during the days, but my evenings should be free," he told her.

"That's good," she said, smirking at her dad, "I told him you and Uncle Pat are going to drink him under the table."

Gabe chuckled, sipping on his scotch, "can't hold your beer?"

Oliver couldn't help but smirk at that, meeting Chloe's eyes for the briefest of moments. "It's been a long time since I've been drunk enough I was actually sick."

She grinned a little at Ollie but remained silent.

"Good start, us Sullivans tend to pass out before we have the opportunity to get sick," Gabe said cheerfully sipping on his drink.

"Another one of the good Sullivan genes Lois didn't inherit." Chloe added.

He chuckled softly. "Her loss, then."

"No kidding," Chloe said, smirking.

"Yeah, Chloe is like the rest of us," Gabe said, looking over at his daughter, "she and Pete got drunk once when she was fifteen, didn't wake up for about sixteen hours."

Chloe gaped at him, "you _knew_ about that?"

Gabe chuckled, "of course, I carried you upstairs, honey."

Oliver laughed out loud at the expression on her face. "And you didn't even get grounded? Mr. Sullivan, you must be the coolest dad ever."

"The hangover was punishment enough, I figured if it happened again, I would have a talk with her." He smiled at Oliver, "please stick with Gabe." He reminded him.

Chloe shook her head, smirking, "and I thought I had been super stealthy and got away with it."

"Sorry. Gabe." Oliver nodded, his smile bright and genuine.

She grinned a little and nodded at Ollie encouragingly.

"Much better," Gabe said approvingly.

He leaned back in his seat as the pilot announced they were about to take-off. He met Chloe's eyes and smiled softly. Maybe this wasn't going to be as scary as he'd thought.

* * *

They had been in Ireland for almost three days already and so far, things had been going great. Ollie had met her uncle, aunt and two cousins and the previous night, when her aunt offered to cook them dinner, Ollie had insisted on helping her with the cooking and it had turned into a really nice family meal. As far as Chloe could tell, Ollie had been pretty comfortable with the whole thing, which was nice to see since she knew he never really had a family setting like that.

But they barely had had any time alone at all. Both nights since they got there had been spent with her family and both times, by the time they got to the hotel, all three of them had been exhausted, so they went to each of their hotel rooms, since Ollie had felt it'd be more appropriate to get three rooms instead of two, and passed out.

Tonight, however, Chloe had left her dad at her uncle's and had found a cab downtown, to the Queen Industries office. Ollie had told her he expected to be out of his meeting a little after six, so she got there a little before six to make sure she didn't miss him since she wanted to surprise him. Of course, because she was officially Watchtower now and because she was _only_ working for the team full time, she had uploaded a bunch of useful little gadgets to her phone, including a secure GPS system that allowed her to track all the other members of the team by their cellphones, no matter where in the world they were.

So as she found herself a seat just outside the building in the sun, she checked her phone one more time and could confirm that Ollie was, indeed, still in his office somewhere inside and all she had to do was entertain herself with some people watching and wait.

He made his way out of the office a little while later, in a good mood despite the fact that his stomach was aching. He'd spent the previous evening with Chloe's family, cooking and eating and talking and then playing a slightly more exuberant game of basketball than he probably should have played that had resulted in her cousin Michael accidentally elbowing him in the gut. He wasn't sure what the plan was for tonight, however, so after a long meeting with the president of the board, Oliver wrapped things up and headed outside, drawing in a breath of the fresh air and smiling faintly.

And then he spotted Chloe sitting on a bench a few feet away, seemingly unaware of his presence and the faint smile turned into a real one.

If someone would have told him a few weeks ago that the two of them would be as close as they were now, he would have scoffed. He knew he wasn't an easy person to get close to, and frankly, neither was she. They both put up a billion walls of defense to keep people out, but somehow they'd managed to take down most of those defenses with one another. He trusted Chloe with everything--far more than he'd ever trusted anyone else with. She knew who he was--who he _really_ was, and she accepted it. And he wasn't the least bit surprised when he'd realized he was truly falling for her. How could he not? Chloe Sullivan was an amazing woman. 

He slowly walked over to her and sat down beside her on the bench. "Hey, Green Eyes," he said softly, leaning over and kissing her cheek.

Chloe blinked and looked over at him, smiling softly as her eyes fell on him, "hey, how did I miss you walking out?"

He smiled back at her, resting a hand between her shoulder blades. "You were pretty engrossed watching people," he teased.

She leaned close to him and kissed him softly, "how was work?"

"Long," he murmured, kissing her back without hesitation. "How's your day been?"

"Better than yours, apparently," she told him, smiling softly at him, "aunt Susan showed me around their neighborhood for a while and we got to catch up and by catch up I mean she was asking a hundred questions about you."

Oliver ducked his head a little at that. "What kind?" he asked uncertainly.

"Oh don't worry," she said, grinning softly, "she thinks you're the best guy ever."

He relaxed and smiled. "I like Aunt Susan." He winked at her.

"Well, it's mutual," she told him, kissing his cheek, "they all love you."

Oliver paused at that, turning his head and kissing her mouth softly. "All of them, huh?"

"Mhmm," she told him, kissing him again, "even Dad thinks you're okay."

He smiled, brushing his nose against hers. "So what's the plan for tonight?" he asked.

"Whatever we want," she said quietly, "I told the family I was ditching them for the night." 

Oliver raised his eyebrows, a little surprised. "Are you sure? You don't get to see them that often." He gazed at her.

"I spent all day with them, Dad is still there and I'm sure he wants some man time with his brother," she told him, kissing his cheek, "we'll see them again tomorrow."

He smiled at her, shifting a little closer. "Hm, that means I have you all to myself tonight."

"Yes you do," she said quietly, wrapping her arm around him and brushing her nose against his. 

"What do you think we should do?" he murmured, kissing the corner of her mouth.

"Hm," Chloe murmured back, "we could go do some sight seeing and go have dinner somewhere, because if we go back to the hotel, I don't know if your stitches will hold up."

Oliver groaned involuntarily at that, his stomach tightening with the mental images that her words caused. "Stitches are overrated," he responded, threading a hand into her hair and kissing her.

She kissed him back for a moment and although she wanted nothing more than to indulge him and go back to the hotel, she knew it was probably not the best idea so she broke the kiss, "I know you're still hurting from basketball."

He sighed softly and leaned his head against hers. "Figures. We're in one of the most beautiful countries in the world and I don't even get to make love to my girlfriend."

"You still get to spend time with me," she pointed out, her chest warm from his choice of words but she didn't say anything, "besides, we can always come back."

"Yeah?" He pressed a kiss against her temple.

"Yeah," she told him quietly, "I don't want you to hurt yourself again and we'll have to wait even longer, Ollie."

Oliver nodded a little and rose to his feet, holding his hand out to her. 

She took his hand and smiled up at him, "where are we going?"

"I thought we could just walk for awhile," he admitted. "Is that okay?" 

"Yeah," she told him quietly, nodding, "as long as you're not in pain or anything."

"I'm all right." He squeezed her hand, tugging her off the bench gently and smiling at her. 

"Well if you get tired, I'm sure we could find a pub somewhere to sit down at," she said as she let go of his hand and wrapped her arm around him.

He nodded. "Since there's one at every corner." He grinned. "Your people like to drink a lot, Chloe," he teased.

"I know," she said, raising her eyebrows, "as it was illustrated by my family the past couple of days," she smirked.

He chuckled at that, sliding both his arms around her and hugging her.

Chloe grinned and pressed a kiss to his jaw, hugging him back, "who are _your_ people anyway? The English?"

"English, German, Scandinavian. I'm a mutt," he joked.

Chloe laughed softly and nodded, "I have some English on my mom's side, but her dad was Irish too."

Oliver brushed his nose against hers. "I do love the Irish," he murmured, kissing her lightly.

Her heart skipped a beat at that and she smiled against his lips, kissing him once more, "I hadn't noticed."

He grinned, nibbling lightly on her lower lip and lifting a hand to her cheek.

She leaned into his touch and smiled softly pulling her mouth back then kissing him hard for a second then pulling back and smiling up at him.

He groaned a little. "Keep that up and we're going to have to find a bathroom," he teased, his voice low.

"Hm, flashback," she teased, smirking up at him. 

He dipped his head, pressing a kiss to her throat.

Chloe shivered a little then pulled back, her eyes darker than usual, "we might be in Europe, but I'm sure some people still care about PDA."

"We'll have to go to Paris, where it's completely normal and expected," he informed her, meeting her eyes.

She brushed her nose against his and smiled, "sounds like a plan."

He kissed her once more, then slid his hand down her arm until he laced his fingers through hers. "Come on."

Chloe squeezed his hand and stepped closer to him, taking a deep breath to stop herself from suggesting they just went back to the hotel, she'd been keeping it quiet, but it had been just as much torture for her as it'd been for him.


	9. Chapter 9

Oliver's arms were wound around her from behind as they rode the elevator up toward the clock tower apartment suite. His chin was resting on her shoulder, his eyes closed. The couple weeks they'd spent in Ireland had done wonders for helping him to heal physically, and Chloe's spirits seemed to be much higher than they had been before they'd left. He wasn't sure if it was just being away from Metropolis, or if it was being with her family that she rarely saw, but he definitely noticed the change in her.

Chloe leaned her head back against his shoulder and turned her head up, kissing his jaw, "I say we sleep for ten hours, then get back on the plane," she teased, rubbing her hands over his arm softly.

He grinned at that, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Sleeping isn't exactly what I had in mind," he murmured.

"Hm," she smirked opening her eyes to look at him, "now you're talking."

Oliver chuckled and leaned down a little more, kissing her neck.

She shivered, closing her eyes and tightening her hold on his arms, pulling him with her as the elevator stopped.

He followed her off the elevator, grabbing their bags and tossing them inside the apartment before spinning her around and kissing her.

Chloe gasped and laughed softly, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back.

Oliver grinned at the sound of her laughter even as he backed her up toward the sofa, his hands resting lightly on her hips.

She reached for his shirt and pulled it up, looking up at him and smirking before sucking his bottom lip in her mouth.

He smirked back at her, tugging his shirt off the rest of the way and letting it drop to the floor, sliding his hands underneath her shirt and tugging her closer to him.

Chloe shivered and pressed her body flush against his as she ran her nails down his back, "you sure you're healed enough for this?"

"I feel much better," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her ear. The stitches had come out a week before thanks to a doctor over in Ireland, and he honestly did feel quite a bit better.

She nodded and looked up at him as she pulled her head back and smirked, "good, because I'm not sure how much longer I could hold back."

He chuckled. "Please don't," he responded, threading a hand in her hair and kissing her urgently.

Chloe moaned quietly against his lips and kissed him with just as much urgency.

Oliver smiled at her moan, reaching down and pulling her shirt up and over her head, discarding it onto the floor with his.

Chloe hooked her hands on the front of his jeans and looked down at the couch then smirked and tugged him away from it, down the hall, "we'll need more space than that."

"Much more space," he agreed with a smirk, following her down the hallway toward his room.

She grinned up at him then started undoing his jeans even as she walked backwards, not wanting to waste anymore time.

He grinned back at her, ducking his head and slanting his mouth over hers as he maneuvered her through his bedroom door and kicked it shut. He backed her up toward the large bed, both hands framing her face as he kissed her.

Chloe pushed his pants down as she kissed him, then broke the kiss and smiled up at him, her eyes bright as she took a final step toward the bed before sitting down on it and backing up, her eyes on him the entire time.

Oliver's eyes were darker than usual as he kicked his jeans off to the side, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her stomach as he unfastened her jeans.

She ran her hands through his hair and watched him, biting down on her lower lip, last time it had been rushed and she was so shocked by how amazing he'd made her feel, she hadn't really had time to explore his body, but she planned on changing that today.

He slid her jeans down her legs slowly and drew in a breath as he stood over her, gazing down at her intently. "Beautiful," he whispered.

"You're way too far away," she complained, looking up at him and holding a hand out to him. 

He smiled at that, reaching out and lacing his fingers through hers as he slid his body over hers. "I'm right here."

"This is much better," she told him, grinning a little and brushing her tongue against his bottom lip.

Oliver groaned softly as he kissed her, shifting slightly so his weight was on his knees between her thighs. He smirked at her as he pulled away, raising his eyebrows and undoing the clasp on her bra. "I didn't get to pay nearly enough attention to these last time," he murmured, kissing his way down to her chest.

Chloe shuddered, smirking at that and taking a deep breath, "actually," she pushed him until he was on his back and climbed on top of him, "I had something else in mind."

He looked up at her, startled by the sudden turn of events. "Well this is an equally wonderful view so I'm not complaining." He smirked.

She bit down on her bottom lip and looked down at him then leaned down and kissed him hard, hungrily. 

Oliver returned the kiss with just as much hunger and urgency, reaching out and pulling the bra the rest of the way off her arms and letting it fall next to him on the bed. Chloe broke the kiss a moment later and kissed the corner of his mouth then his jaw and neck, sucking and nibbling on the skin there before moving further down his body. 

He licked his lips, watching her intently. "You're getting too far away," he informed her.

She smirked and looked up at him as she ran her tongue over his chest slowly then raised an eyebrow, "are you sure you wanna complain about it?" Chloe asked, shifting further down. 

Oliver swallowed hard. "Not really."

Nodding, she held his gaze for a moment then kissed his stomach as she reached down and pushed his boxers down. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, laying his head back on the bed.

She peeled his boxers off of him, tossing them on the floor before kneeling down on either side of his legs again and taking him in her hand, her eyes going up to his face as she smirked slightly. 

Oliver's hands reached out, bunching the bedsheets in his fists as he looked down and met her gaze.

Chloe stroked him slowly a few times, then, keeping her eyes on his, she lowered her head and ran her tongue over the tip of his cock. 

A hiss escaped him and he slammed his eyes shut as he shuddered involuntarily. "Chloe..."

A smirk appeared on her lips just before she wrapped them around him, sucking him into her mouth suddenly as she stroked her hand down his base. 

Oliver's hands let go of the mattress, his hands reaching down to tangle gently in her hair, not putting any pressure on her head, but wanting to touch her somehow. "God," he whispered, feeling the tension coiling in his stomach.

She pulled her mouth back slowly, adding pressure to the underside of his cock with her tongue as she did, taking a deep breath as she looked up at him once more, a shiver running through because knowing she was able to put that look on his face alone felt amazing.

His eyes rolled back into his head as he groaned loudly, his body shuddering at the feel of her mouth on him. "Oh, Chloe."

Chloe stroked him all the way down to the base then as she lowered her mouth around him again, she moved her hand up, her grip on him tight as her lips and hand met halfway. 

He swallowed hard, another moan escaping him as his fingers slid through her hair.

She hollowed the inside of her cheeks, sucking him is as much as she could as he hand slipped down again and cupped his balls, giving them a gentle squeeze. 

Oliver shuddered once more, his breathing ragged. "Stop."

Chloe blinked and stilled, looking up at him with her eyes wide as she pulled her mouth away from him. 

"If you don't this is going to be over way too fast," he murmured, offering her a wry grin.

She relaxed a little and licked her lips, letting go of him and kissing his stomach, "where are your condoms?"

"Top drawer of the end table," he told her, gently massaging her scalp.

Chloe pulled back and sat on her heels as she reached back, opening the drawer and pulling a condom out of it, she pulled the package open then slid it down over his length slowly. 

Oliver shuddered a little as her fingers slid over him and then he reached out for her.

She leaned in when he reached for her and smiled down at him before brushing her lips against his. 

He smiled back at her, kissing her back softly as he slid a hand down her back, pulling her closer to him. "You realize that I'm falling in love with you," he whispered. "Right?"

Chloe stilled and took a deep breath, looking down at him, "you should know it's reciprocal." 

Oliver met her eyes and nodded slightly, reaching up to cup her cheek in one hand. "I will never intentionally hurt you," he murmured, searching her eyes.

"Shh," she told him, kissing him softly, "I'm not worried."

He relaxed at that, nodding and returning the kiss just as softly, shifting beneath her slightly. "You still have clothes on," he murmured, his mouth turning up in a grin.

"And whose fault is that?" She asked, smirking softly and arching an eyebrow.

"Mine," he said with a smirk. "I'm a slacker." He rested his hands on her hips and rolled her beneath him, flashing her a charming grin and sliding her underpants down and off her body, tossing them over his shoulder.

Chloe laughed softly and couldn't stop herself from kissing him firmly on the lips, just because of that grin. 

Oliver kissed her back without hesitation, still grinning even as a hand trailed between them and slid down to her thighs.

Chloe shivered at the touch in anticipation and bit down on his bottom lip.

He groaned softly, shifting slightly as he began to stroke the sensitive bundle of nerves lightly, pulling his head back and kissing his way down to her chest once more. He captured a nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it and suckling lightly.

She moaned and shuddered, lifting a hand to his head and wrapping her fingers around his hair.

He smiled at her reaction, lifting his head to look at her for a second before giving her other breast the same treatment, sliding a finger inside of her at the same time, his thumb still rubbing slow circles over her clit.

Her head dropped to the bed as her hips thrust against his hand, "Ollie," she breathed, holding on to his hair.

Oliver lifted his head to look at her again as he slid a second finger inside her, watching her intently. "Come for me," he whispered, adding a little more pressure with his thumb.

Chloe pressed her feet against the mattress and arched her back, lifting her hips against his hand and thrusting as she cried out his name, it only took a couple more strokes from him for her to come undone, shuddering hard as her hips jerked against his touch, "Ollie..." 

He lowered himself slowly, kissing her mouth with urgency.

She took a deep breath then returned the kiss before reaching down between them and taking him in her hand, guiding him to her with just as much urgency, they'd waited long enough.

Oliver reached down and took one of her hands in his, lacing their fingers together as he slid into her slowly, keeping his eyes on her face.

Chloe took a deep breath and looked up at him, squeezing his hand as she wrapped her legs around his back, pulling him further inside of her. 

He shuddered involuntarily as he slid the rest of the way inside her, his breath hitching in his throat as he gazed down at her, keeping his body in check as best he could to give her time to adjust. "You okay?"

"Yes," she breathed, looking up at him and cupping his cheek, she'd been wanting this so badly since that first time, "can't ever go this long without you again."

His expression softened at her words and he leaned down, kissing her once more before he slid out of her and thrust back in quickly.

"Oh!" Chloe moaned at the feel of him thrusting back into her, her arms tight around his back. She had never felt so... whole before, like he fit within her perfectly and maybe her sexual history was incredibly short, but she _knew_ it wouldn't feel like this with anyone else.

Oliver couldn't take his eyes off her face, at the emotions and expressions that washed over her as they moved together. No one had ever been so open, so expressive with him before. Or maybe he just hadn't noticed. Or cared. But now it seemed like one of the most incredible things ever. "You're so beautiful," he whispered, brushing his nose against hers.

She pulled a hand from around his back and wrapped it around his neck, cupping it and pulling him closer.

He kissed her mouth softly as thrust into her again, resting his head against hers.

Chloe slid her other hand down his back, thrusting against him as she shifted her legs higher, causing him to slide in even further, "Ollie," she moaned, pulling him as close to her as she could.

"Oh God," he uttered, burying his face into her neck for a moment, then flipping them so she was on top of him. He panted for breath, locking eyes with her once more.

She gasped and looked down at him, sitting up and looking down at him, she took his hands in hers, squeezing them as she started slamming her hips against his faster.

Oliver watched her as she moved on him, lifting his hips to meet her halfway, tugging her down, closer to him, bringing one of her hands to his mouth and kissing her palm.

She shuddered, taking a deep breath as she laid down on top of him, squeezing his hands, "faster, Ollie," she begged.

He shifted once more, sitting up with her in his arms and thrusting up into her quickly as he slanted his mouth over hers.

Chloe moaned kissing him hungrily and wrapping her arms around his back, rocking her hips against his.

Oliver's jaw tightened a little as he felt himself getting closer. Breathing heavily, he slid a hand between them and began to stroke her once more.

She cried out, breaking the kiss and letting her head fall back as she moved as fast as she could against him, her muscles clenching to him as her nails dug against his back, a moan escaping her with every thrust.

He gripped onto her hip with one hand, still stroking her with the other, his eyes wide as he watched her face, watched her head fall back. Unable to resist, he leaned in and pressed his mouth against her throat, thrusting up into her a little harder, a little faster.

"Ollie!" She cried out, her body shaking as her orgasm built up, her muscles clenching to him so hard and with a shudder, and a half moan half groan, she came, clinging to him as he nails dug deeper against his shoulder.

Between the feel of her nails against his skin and her muscles tightening around him, he thrust into her once more, his own pleasure washing over him as he shuddered against her, kissing her throat once more. "God, Chloe."

She fell forward, breathing heavily as she leaned against him, "you're so amazing," she managed after several deep breaths.

"We're amazing together," he whispered, lifting his head up and gently brushing the hair out of her face and kissing her softly on the mouth.

Chloe kissed him breathlessly, rubbing her hands over his back.

He smiled softly, gently laying her back down on the bed and kissing her forehead tenderly.

"I'll need this all the time now," she told him quietly, kissing his jaw.

Oliver chuckled softly at that. "You can have this anytime, and anywhere you want," he told her just as quietly.

"Hm," she whispered and nodded, smiling softly as she hugged him close, "dangerous offer..."

"I'm a dangerous type," he whispered back.

"No wonder I'm so attracted to you," she said, pulling her head back and smiling up at him.

He chuckled, smiling back at her with warm amusement in his eyes. "Here I thought it was just my stunning good looks," he teased.

"That _helps_ " she smirked, brushing her nose against his, "but it's the daredevil attitude that does it for me."

He grinned, kissing her softly again. "You know what does it for me?"

"Hm?" She asked curiously, smiling softly.

"You." His voice was quiet as he gazed at her intently. "You are the most incredible woman I've ever known," he said sincerely. "Your heart." He kissed her chest over her heart very softly. "Your smile." He kissed her mouth. "Those beautiful green eyes." He brushed his nose against hers. "You don't even realize how special and incredible you are."

Her cheeks flushed as she watched him, she shook her head a little and smiled shyly, kissing him softly because she had no idea what to say to that.

Oliver kissed her back, lifting one hand to cup her cheek.

"How can you be so amazing?" She whispered against his lips, before kissing him again.

A smile quirked his mouth. "It's a gift," he joked.

"Lucky me..." she said quietly, hugging him close.

His expression softened at the sincerity in her voice. "I'm the lucky one."

Chloe shook her head a little and hid her head against his neck, "no, I'm definitely the lucky one in this situation," she told him quietly, smiling silently. Considering she had accidentally come across him at that bar because her loser _ex_ was making her feel miserable and that her first and only 'one night stand' ever had turned into this, she was most definitely very lucky.

"Maybe we're both lucky," he whispered, gently stroking her hair.

"Maybe we are," she said quietly, looking up at him.

He smiled softly and pulled her close.

Chloe kissed him softly and hugged him to her, "you don't have anywhere to be today, right?"

"Yes. Right here in bed with my beautiful girlfriend." He grinned.

She grinned brightly at that and nodded, "good, because I have no plans of letting you go anywhere."

He chuckled. "I'm not through with you by a _long_ shot," he informed her. "We have a lot of time to make up for..."

At that, she raised her eyebrows at him, turning and laying on of of him, "in that case, I'm not letting you go anywhere for _days_."

Oliver simply grinned.


End file.
